BX  8495   .F6  B46  1837 
Benson,  Joseph,  1749-1821. 
The  life  of  John  W.   de  la 
Flechere 


Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archive 

in  2014 

https://archive.org/details/lifeofrevjohnwde00bens_1 


THE  LIFE 

OF  THE 

REV.  JOHN  W.  DE  LA  FLECHERE: 

COMPILED  FROM  THE 

NARRATIVE  OF  REV.  MR.  WESLEY; 

THE 

BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTES  OF  REV.  MR.  GILPIN; 

FIIOM 

HIS  OWN  LETTERS. 

AND 

OTHER  AUTHENTIC  DOCUMENTS, 
MANY   01-  WHICH   WEBB   NEVER   BEFORE  I'URl.ISHEO. 


"*SEP  17  'MO  . 


BY  JOSEPH  BENSON. 


N  E  W-YORK: 

PUBLISHED  BY  T.  MASON  AND  G.  LANK, 
FOR  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  AT  THE  CONFERENCE 
OFFICE,  200  ML'I.DERRY-STRKF.T. 

J.  Collord,  Printer. 
1837. 


PREFACE  TO  LIFE  OF  FLETCHER. 


It  has  long  been  the  desire  of  many  of  Mr.  Fletcher's 
friends,  to  see  a  more  full  and  complete  account  of  that 
extraordinary  man,  than  any  that  had  appeared.  Mr. 
Wesley's  Narrative  of  his  life  was  drawn  up  in  great 
haste,  and  in  the  midst  of  so  many  important  labours  and 
concerns  of  another  kind,  that  it  is  not  at  all  surprising 
it  should  contain  some  small  mistakes,  and  in  other  re- 
spects, should  be  imperfect.  Mrs.  Fletcher  never  in- 
tended to  write  his  Life,  but  only  to  give  an  account  of 
his  death,  with  a  few  particulars  of  his  character.  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Gilpin's  Biographical  Notes,  annexed  to  his 
translation  of  Mr.  Fletcher  Portrait  of  Saint  Paul,  are 
very  excellent,  and  very  accurate,  as  far  as  they  go. 
But  neither  did  Mr.  Gilpin  intend  to  write  his  Life,  but 
simply  to  give  some  more  traits  of  his  character,  and  add 
a  few  anecdotes  concerning  him,  which  had  been  omitted 
by  Mr.  Wesley  and  Mrs.  Fletcher.  Add  to  this,  that 
Mr.  Gilpin's  Notes  are  scattered  through  that  work 
without  any  order:  and,  however  useful,  as  detached 
pieces,  do  not,  in  any  respect,  furnish  the  reader  with  a 
regular  and  connected  history  of  that  great  and  good 
man.  In  consideration  of  these  things,  it  has  been 
judged,  by  his  friend*,  to  be  a  debt  due  to  his  memory, 
and  to  the  Christian  world,  to  compile  from  the  whole, 
and  from  such  other  documents  as  might  be  collected, 
such  an  authentic  and  properly  arranged  narrative  of  his 
life  and  death,  as  might  be  at  once  clear  and  sufficiently 
full,  comprising  every  article  of  importance.  Mrs. 
Fletcher,  knowing  that  I  had  been  particularly  intimate 
with  Mr.  Fletcher  from  the  year  1768,  till  his  death,  and 
that  we  had  been  in  the  constant  habit  of  corresponding, 
earnestly  desired  I  would  undertake  this  work.  And  our 
general  conference,  held  at  Leeds  in  the  year  1801,  having 
joined  with  her  in  the  same  request,  I  have,  at  length, 
complied,  and  am  not  without  hope,  that  the  interests 
of  pure  and  vital  Christianity  will  be  promoted  by  it. 


•1 


PREFACE  TO  LIFE  OF  FLETCHER. 


This  narrative  includes  the  whole  of  what  is  material  in 
the  forementioiied  accounts,  digested  in  regular  order, 
together  with  much  new  matter,  taken  chiefly  from  Mr. 
Fletcher's  own  letters  to  myself,  and  some  other  friends, 
especially  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Perronet,  late  of  Shoreham, 
and  some  members  of  his  family.  I  have  found  it  to  be 
peculiarly  useful  to  myself  to  be  employed  about  this 
work  :  and  I  pray  God  that  every  reader  may  obtain 
similar,  and  even  greater  benefit  from  it,  and  be  induced 
to  follow  him  as  fully  as  he  followed  Christ. 

Joseph  Benson. 

London,  October  25,  1804. 


PREFACE  TO  LIFE  OF  FLETCHER. 


6 


PREFACE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION. 


The  editor  is  aware  that  he  must  chiefly  ascrihe  it  to 
<he  high  esteem  entertained  by  the  public  in  general,  and 
by  the  members  of  the  Methodist  societies  in  particular, 
for  the  character  of  the  late  Rev.  Mr.  Fletcher,  and  the 
great  veneration  in  which  his  memory  is  held  by  them, 
that  the  former  impression  of  this  work  has  had  so  rapid 
a  sale,  and  that  a  second  edition  is  so  soon  called  for. 
He  is,  however,  happy  to  find,  by  the  testimonies  he  lias 
received  from  different  quarters,  that  the  manner  in 
which  he  has  been  enabled  to  execute  his  office  of  com- 
piler, lias  been  highly  satisAictory  to  Mr.  Fletcher's 
friends,  and  to  the  readers  of  the  publication  in  general. 

It  is  true,  the  editors  of  a  periodical  work,  termed  the 
"Cliristian  Observer,"  have  represented  it  as  an  im- 
perfection in  its  mode  of  compilation,  that  he  did  not 
"  weave  the  whole  of  his  materials  into  a  completely 
new  work."  But  this,  he  must  observe,  was  not  the  task 
assigned  him  ;  nor  would  he,  if  desired,  have  consented 
to  undertake  it,  well  knowing,  both  that  it  would 
require  more  time  than  he  could  have  spared  from  his 
other,  not  less  important  employments,  and  that  the  work 
would  gain  nothing  thereby  in  point  of  real  usefulness. 
For  he  was  well  persuaded  that  he  could  not  express 
the  same  things  in  his  own  words  so  well  as  the  Rev. 
Messrs.  Wesley  and  Gilpin  had  expressed  them,  nor 
clothe  the  materials  furnished  by  these  truly  pious  and 
learned  writers  in  more  pure,  elegant,  and  forcible  lan- 
guage, than  they  had  used.  He  knew,  therefore,  that 
to  have  pursued  the  plan  the  conductors  of  that  miscel- 
lany have  suggested,  would  not  have  rendered  the  work 
more  interesting,  or  more  instructive  to  the  reader,  or 
in  any  respect  better  calculated  to  answer  the  great  and 
important  ends  of  religious  biography,  which  are  not  to 
gain  honour  and  applause  to  the  writer;  but  rather  to 
excite  and  animate  the  reader  to  greater  zeal  and  dili- 


6 


PREFACE  TO   LIFE  OF  FLETCHER. 


gcnce  in  pursuit  of  whatever  excellence  might  be  de- 
scribed or  exemplified  in  the  subject  of  it.  Add  to  this, 
he  was  sensible  it  was  not  the  wish  of  any  of  the  parties 
by  whom  he  was  pressed  into  this  service,  that  the  nar- 
ratives of  Messrs.  Wesley  and  Gilpin  should  be  super- 
seded and  lost  sight  of.  He  knew  it  was  .rather  their 
desire,  that  these  well  written,  though  incomplete  ac- 
counts should  be  brought  forward  afresh  into  public 
view,  preserved  and  perpetuated,  by  being  incorporated 
in  one  volume,  with  such  other  materials  as  might  be 
collected  ;  thereby  furnishing  the  public  with  such  a  clear 
and  full  history  of  that  incomparable  man  as  might  be  of 
las  Ling  use  to  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  a  mean  of  edifi- 
cation to  thousands  yet  unborn. 

But  "  the  natural  consequence  of  this  mode  of  compi- 
lation," say  they,  "  is,  that  the  work  is  defective  in  clear- 
ness and  uniformity,  and  that  it  is  occasionally  prolix  and 
redundant."  As  to  prolixity  and  redundance,  the  editor 
is  under  no  concern.  The  persons  for  whose  use  chiefly 
he  undertook  to  compile  this  volume,  have  such  venera- 
tion for  the  memory  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  that  any  in  forma- 
tion concerning  him  that  is  authentic,  and  at  all  instruct- 
ive, or  calculated  to  cast  light  upon  his  character,  is 
peculiarly  welcome ;  although  to  readers  less  apprised 
of  his  worth,  it  might  appear  unnecessary,  or  even  super- 
fluous. Under  a  persuasion  of  this,  at  the  same  time 
that  the  editor  has  corrected  two  or  three  important 
mistakes,  inadvertently  made  in  the  former  impression, 
he  has  enlarged  the  narrative  still  more  in  the  present 
publication,  by  inserting  several  anecdotes,  original  let- 
ters, and  other  communications  which  had  not  come  to 
hand  when  his  manuscript  lor  the  first  edition  was  sent 
to  the  press. 

But  as  to  this  point  of  prolixity,  the  Christian  Observ- 
ers themselves  have  formed  his  apology.  "  It  is  but  fair 
to  observe,  (say  they,)  as  to  this  volume,  that,  as  it  was 
evidently  intended  chiefly  for  the  perusal  of  the  followers 
of  Mr.  Wesley,  who  are  almost  universally  great  admirers 
of  Mr.  Fletcher,  the  editor  might  not  think  it  necessary 
to  pay  so  much  regard,  in  the  construction  of  his  work, 
to  perspicuity  of  arrangement  and  elegance  of  manner 
as  to  the  minuteness  of  his  details,  and  the  abundance 
of  his  matter."    This  statement,  bating  the  unmerited 


PREFACE  TO  LIFE  OF  FLETCHER. 


7 


insinuation  contained  in  it  against  the  followers  of  Mr. 
Wesley  as  persons  who  have  less  taste  than  their  neigh- 
bours for  order  and  elegance  in  composition,  the  editor 
acknowledges  to  be  pretty  near  the  truth.  He  owns  he 
did  pay,  and  thought  it  his  duty  to  pay,  much  more 
attention  to  the  matter  than  to  the  form  and  manner  of 
his  work.  He  paid,  however,  considerable  attention  to 
the  latter  also,  and  ventures  to  say,  while  it  has  all  the 
elegance  which  the  fine  pens  of  Messrs.  Gilpin,  Wesley, 
and  Fletcher  could  give  it,  the  greatest  part  of  its  con- 
tents being  expressed  in  their  words,  it  has  all  the  per- 
spicuity and  clearness  which  "an  arrangement  accord- 
ing to  the  dale  of  the  events,"  could  bestow — an  arrange- 
ment which  these  observers  themselves  acknowledge  to 
have  been  attended  to. 

As  to  uniformity,  it  has  what  is  quite  sufficient  for  a 
work  of  the  kind;  a  uniformity,  not  indeed  of  language, 
the  simple  and  laconic  style  of  Mr.  Wesley  differing  very 
materially  from  the  diffuse  and  florid  manner  of  Mr.  Gil- 
pin and  the  copiousness  of  Mr.  Fletcher  ;  but,  what  is 
infinitely  more  important,  a  uniformity  of  testimony,  re- 
specting the  amiable  and  excellent  subject  of  the  narra- 
tive, and  that  blessed  Gospel  which  he  preached,  which 
he  lived,  and  which  his  most  eminent  gifts  and  graces 
highly  adorned.  It  is  also  uniform  as  to  its  design,  and 
it  is  hoped  that  all  its  parts  co-operate  to  produce  the 
important  effect  intended,  and  that  is,  to  induce  every 
reader  to  follow  Mr.  Fletcher  as  he  followed  Christ. 

In  short,  the  editor  believes  that  he  has  pursued  the 
best  plan  which  he  could  have  chosen,  in  order  to  trace, 
exhibit,  and  attest,  from  the  mouths  of  different  witnesses, 
Mr.  Fletcher's  character  and  conduct  through  every 
period  of  his  life  ;  and  to  give  the  reader  at  once  a  clear 
and  full  view  of  his  progressive  wisdom,  piety,  and 
usefulness,  and  especially  of  that  heavenly  and  divine 
mind  whereby  he  was  prepared  for  the  great  and  glori- 
ous reward  awaiting  him  in  the  kingdom  of  his  Father. 

But  without  entering  farther  into  the  examination  of 
what  he  cannot  but  think  to  be  the  unkind  and  illiberal 
remarks,  contained  in  the  forementioned  publication,  on 
these  two  most  eminently  useful  men,  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
Wesley  and  Fletcher,  and  on  the  Methodists  in  general; 
as  a  proper  contrast  to  their  critique,  and  a  confirmation 


PREFACE  TO  LIFE  OF  FLETCHER. 


of  the  observations  just  made,  the  editor  will  now  take 
the  liberty  of  laying  before  the  reader  the  judgment 
passed  upon  this  work,  by  the  conductors  of  two  other 
periodical  publications.  Although  no  followers  of  Mr. 
Wesley,  but  persons  of  very  different  sentiments,  as  to 
some  important  points  of  Christian  doctrine,  neverthe- 
less they  could  not  close  their  eyes  to  the  uncommon 
piety  and  other  excellences  of  the  subject  of  this  nar- 
rative. 

"  Whatever  difference  of  opinion,"  say  the  editors  of 
the  Theological  and  Biblical  Magazine,  (sec  their  num- 
ber for  April,  1803,)  "may  be  entertained  respecting 
some  important  points  of  doctrine,  which  the  late  Mr. 
Fletcher  publicly  maintained,  we  believe  that  there  is  but 
one  opinion  as  to  the  exalted  piety  of  this  eminent 
Christian.  We  have  perused  these  memoirs  with  deep 
interest,  and  we  hope  also  not  without  profit.  His 
humility,  disinterestedness,  affection,  zeal,  and  heavenly 
Handedness  have,  perhaps,  been  seldom  equalled ;  and 
few,  we  believe,  will  rise  from  the  perusal  of  the  volume 
before  us,  without  being  ashamed  of  their  own  impro- 
litableness,  and  adoring  the  riches  of  Divine  grace,  which 
were  so  extraordinarily  manifested  to  this  man  of  Cod. 
While  reading  this  account  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  we  fre- 
quently called  to  mind  the  late  most  amiahle  Mr.  Pearce, 
of  Birmingham,  whose  life  has  been  written  by  Mr.  Ful- 
ler. There  seems,  indeed,  to  have  been  a  very  great 
resemblance  in  these  two  characters,  both  in  the  ardency 
of  their  Christian  love,  their  entire  devotedncss  to  Cod, 
and  the  constant  communion  they  held  with  the  Father 
of  spirits.  We  have  not  room  for  quotations,  yet  we 
feel  strongly  inclined  to  give  a  few  expressions  of  his, 
which  indicate  great  candour  toward  those  who  thought 
differently  from  him  in  some  less  important  particulars 
of  doctrine."  After  producing  a  passage  to  this  pur- 
pose, which  the  reader  will  find  in  page  332,  "  God  for- 
bid, &c,"  they  add,  "We,  among  many  others,  differ 
widely  from  Mr.  Fletcher  in  some  points  of  doctrine, 
but  we  cannot  withhold  our  admiration  of  a  character 
so  truly  lovely  and  exalted.  Mr.  Benson  has  performed 
his  part,  in  collecting  the  materials  for  this  Life  of  Mr. 
Fletcher  in  a  very  respectable  manner." 

The  following  sentences  are  transcribed  from  the 


MTETACE  TO  LIFE  OF  FLETCHER. 


9 


Eclectic  Review  for  June,  1805,  in  which  this  work  is 
considered  at  large  :  "  There  have  been  some,  in  most 
ages  of  Christianity,  and  in  most  countries  where  it  is 
professed,  who  have  emulated  its  primitive  and  genuine 
excellence.  Among  these  exalted  few,  the  subject  of 
the  biography  before  us  is  unquestionably  to  be  ranked. 
In  whatever  period  he  had  lived,  to  whatever  department 
of  Christians  he  had  belonged,  he  would  have  shone  in 
the  religious  hemisphere,  as  a  star  of  the  first  magni- 
tude." After  giving,  from  the  volume,  a  general  out- 
line of  his  history,  they  add,  "We  must  refer  to  the 
narrative  of  his  short  illness,  given  by  Mrs.  Fletcher, 
and  to  an  ample  character  of  him  previously  introduced, 
for  a  more  adequate  idea  of  this  excellent  man  than  we 
can  attempt  to  impart.  It  was  deemed  preferable  to 
give  the  preceding  outline,  rather  than  extracts  of  the 
work,  as  those  (parts)  which  describe  the  more  striking 
scenes  of  Mr.  Fletcher's  life  have  formerly  been  printed, 
Mr.  Benson  has  very  judiciously  connected  and  com^ 
pleted,  either  from  his  own  knowledge,  or  authentic 
documents,  the  detached  accounts  which  had  appeared 
in  various  publications."  After  mentioning  a  few  pas- 
sages, by  the  omission  of  which,  and  by  the  accession  of 
Mr.  Fletcher's  character,  as  a  tutor  and  as  a  writer,  the 
authors  of  the  Eclectic  Review  think  the  volume  might 
be  amended,  they  add,  "  We  can  cordially  recommend 
it,  in  its  present  state,  to  serious  and  candid  Christians, 
of  every  variety  of  form  and  sentiment :  and  it  would 
greatly  surprise  us,  should  any  person  of  this  descrip- 
tion rise  up  from  the  perusal  of  it,  and  assert  that  it  had 
not  afforded  him  pleasure  and  improvement." 

The  Editor. 


V 


10 


PREFACE  tO  LIFE  OF  FLETCHER. 


REV.  MR.  WESLEY'S  PREFACE  TO  THE  READER. 


No  man  in  England  has  had  so  long  an  acquaintance 
with  Mr.  Fletcher  as  myself.  Our  acquaintance  began 
almost  as  soon  as  his  arrival  in  London,  about  the  year 
1752,  before  he  entered  into  holy  orders,  or  (I  believe) 
had  any  such  intention.  And  it  continued  uninterrupted 
between  thirty  and  forty  years,  even  till  it  pleased  God 
to  take  him  to  himself.  Nor  was  ours  a  slight  or  ordi- 
nary acquaintance  ;  but  we  were  of  one  heart  and  of  one 
soul.  We  had  no  secrets  between  us  for  many  years ; 
we  did  not  purposely  hide  any  thing  from  each  other. 
From  time  to  time  he  consulted  me,  and  I  him,  on  the 
most  important  occasions.  And  he  constantly  professed, 
not  only  much  esteem,  but  (what  I  valued  far  more)  much 
affection.  He  told  me,  in  one  of  his  letters,  (I  doubt 
not  from  his  heart,) 

"  Tecum  vivere  anien ;  tecum  abeam  kibens : 
With  thee  I  gladly  would  both  live  and  die." 

I  therefore  think  myself  obliged,  by  the  strongest  ties, 
to  pay  this  small  tribute  to  his  memory.  But  you  may 
easily  observe  that,  in  doing  this,  I  am  little  more  than 
a  compiler.  For  I  owe  a  great,  if  not  the  greatest  part 
of  the  ensuing  tract  to  a  few  friends,  who  have  been  at 
no  small  pains  in  furnishing  me  with  materials:  and, 
above  all,  to  my  dear  friend,  (such  she  has  been  almost 
from  her  childhood,)  Mrs.  Fletcher.  I  could  easily  have 
altered  both  hers  and  their  language,  while  I  retained 
their  sentiments.  But  I  was  conscious  I  could  not  alter 
it  for  the  better :  and  I  would  not  alter  for  altering's 
sake  :  but  judged  it  fairest  to  give  you  most  of  their 
accounts  very  nearly  in  their  own  words. 

Amsterdam,  September  12,  1786. 


THE  LIFE 

OF  THE 

REV.  JOHN  WILLIAM  DE  LA  FLECHERE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Of  his  parentage  and  youth. 

John  William  De  La  Flechere,  (this  was  properly 
liis  name,)  was  born  at  Nyon,  in  Switzerland,  ( Wesley's 
Life  of  Fletcher,)  a  town  about  fifteen  miles  north  of 
Geneva,  on  September  the  twelfth,  in  the  year  1729. 
His  father  was  an  officer  in  the  French  service,  till  he 
left  the  army  in  order  to  marry.  But  after  a  time,  he 
returned  to  the  same  line  of  life,  and  was  a  colonel  in 
•the  militia  of  his  own  country.  Of  this  gentleman,  whose 
family  is  one  of  the  most  respectable  in  the  canton  of 
Berne,  and  a  branch  of  an  earldom  of  Savoy,  Mr.  Fletcher 
was  the  youngest  son. 

2.  He  passed  the  early  part  of  his  life  at  Nyon,  (Gilpin's 
Notes,  subjoined  to  Fletcher's  Portrait  of  St.  Paul,) 
where  he  soon  discovered  an  elevated  turn  of  mind,  ac- 
companied with  an  unusual  degree  of  vivacity.  After 
having  made  a  good  proficiency  in  school  learning,  he 
was  removed  with  his  two  brothers  to  Geneva,  where  he 
was  distinguished  equally  by  his  superior  abilities  and  his 
uncommon  application.  The  first  two  prizes  for  which 
he  stood  a  candidate  he  carried  away  from  a  number  of 
competitors,  several  of  whom  were  nearly  related  to  the 
professors  :  and  on  these  occasions  he  was  complimented 
by  his  superiors  in  a  very  nattering  manner.  During  his 
residence  at  Geneva,  he  allowed  himself  but  little  time, 
either  for  recreation,  refreshment,  or  rest.  After  con- 
fining himself  closely  to  his  studies  all  the  day,  he  would 
frequently  consume  the  greater  part  of  the  night  in  noting 
down  whatever  had  occurred,  in  the  course  of  his  read- 
ing, worthy  of  observation.  Here  he  acquired  that  true 
classical  taste  which  was  so  frequently  and  justly  ad- 
mired by  his  intimate  friends,  and  which  all  his  studied 
plainness  could  never  conceal.    Here  also  he  laid  the 


13 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


foundation  of  that  extensive  and  accurate  knowledge  for 
which  he  was  afterward  distinguished,  both  in  philoso- 
phical and  theological  researches.  After  quitting  Geneva, 
he  was  sent  by  his  father  to  Lcntzbourg,  a  small  town  in 
the  Swiss  cantons,  where  he  not  only  acquired  the  Ger- 
man language,  but  diligently  prosecuted  his  other  studies, 
to  which  he  ever  discovered  a  passionate  attachment. 
On  his  return  from  this  place  he  continued  some  time 
at  home,  studying  the  Hebrew  language,  and  perfecting 
his  acquaintance  with  mathematical  learning. 

3.  His  early  piety  was  equally  remarkable  with  his 
early  attainments.  From  his  childhood  he  was  impress- 
ed with  a  deep  sense  of  the  majesty  of  God,  and  a  constant 
fear  of  offending  him,  and  manifested  great  tenderness  of 
conscience,  as  appears  by  the  following  instances.  One 
day  having  offended  his  father,  who  threatened  to  correct 
him,  he  did  not  dare  to  come  into  his  presence,  but  retired 
into  the  garden  :  and  when  he  saw  him  coming  toward 
him,  he  ran  away  with  all  speed.  But  he  was  presently 
struck  with  deep  remorse,  and  said  to  himself,  "What! 
do  I  run  away  from  my  father  ?  Perhaps  I  shall  live  to 
have  a  son  that  will  run  away  from  mcV  And  it  was 
several  years  before  the  impression  which  he  then  re- 
ceived was  worn  off. 

4.  Another  instance  of  his  tenderness  of  conscience 
occurred  when  he  was  about  seven  years  of  age.  He 
was  one  day  reproved  by  the  nursery  maid,  saying,  "  You 
are  a  naughty  boy.  Do  you  not  know  that  the  devil  is 
to  take  away  all  naughty  children?"  He  was  no  sooner 
in  bed,  than  he  began  to  reflect  very  deeply  upon  her 
words.  He  thought,  "I  am  a  naughty  boy.  And  how 
do  I  know  but  God  may  let  the  devil  take  me  away  this 
night."  He  then  got  up,  fell  down  upon  his  knees  before 
God,  and  prayed  earnestly  for  a  considerable  time,  till  he 
felt  such  a  sense  of  the  Divine  love  as  quieted  every  fear. 
He  then  lay  down  in  peace  and  safety. 

5.  Mr.  Fletcher's  early  acquaintance  with  the  Holy 
Scriptures  guarded  him,  on  the  one  hand,  from  the  snares 
of  infidelity,  and  preserved  him,  on  the  other,  from  many 
of  the  vices  peculiar  to  youth.  His  conversation  was 
modest,  and  his  whole  conduct  marked  with  a  degree  of 
rectitude  not  usually  to  be  found  in  early  life.  He  mani- 
fested an  extraordinary  turn  for  religious  meditation :  and 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


13 


those  little  productions  which  gained  him  the  greatest  ap- 
plause, at  this  period,  were  chiefly  of  a  serious  tendency. 
His  filial  obedience  and  brotherly  affection  were  exem- 
plary ;  nor  is  it  remembered  that  he  ever  uttered  one 
unbecoming  expression  in  either  of  those  characters.  He 
was  a  constant  reprover  of  sin ;  and  his  modest  freedom 
in  this  respect  is  said  once  to  have  offended  a  mother  he 
tenderly  loved.  While  she  was,  on  some  occasion,  ex- 
pressing herself  in  too  warm  a  manner  to  one  of  the 
family,  he  turned  his  eye  upon  her  with  a  gentle  reproof. 
She  was  displeased  with  the  modest  reprehension,  and 
repaid  it  with  some  severity,  which  he  received  with  the 
utmost  submission,  making  only  the  following  reply: 
"When  I  am  smitten  on  one  cheek,  and  especially  by  a 
hand  I  love  so  well,  I  am  taught  to  turn  the  other  also.'1'' 
This  expression  was  not  employed  with  an  air  of  bravado, 
but  with  a  look  of  so  much  tender  affection  that  the  in- 
dignation of  his  mother  was  instantly  turned  into  a  look 
of  pleasing  admiration. 

6.  Persons  who  are  designed  by  the  Almighty  for  emi- 
nent services  in  his  Church  are  frequently  distinguished 
in  their  youth  by  striking  peculiarities,  which  awaken 
in  those  around  them  an  expectation  of  something  extra- 
ordinary in  their  future  character.  Of  this  kind  was  the 
following  circumstance.  During  Mr.  Fletcher's  residence 
at  Geneva,  his  sister,  Madame  de  Botens,  who  had  taken 
a  house  in  that  city  for  the  convenience  of  her  brothers, 
was  visited  by  a  widow  lady  from  Nyon.  This  lady  was 
accompanied  by  her  three  sons,  who  were  not  the  most 
happily  disposed,  and  whose  improper  conduct  at  this 
time  provoked  her  to  so  uncommon  a  degree  as  to  ex- 
tort from  her  a  hasty  imprecation.  Mr.  Fletcher,  who 
was  present  upon  this  occasion,  was  so  struck  with  the 
unnatural  carriage  of  this  exasperated  mother  that,  in- 
stantly starting  from  his  chair,  he  addressed  her  in  a  very 
powerful  remonstrance.  He  reasoned  with  her  in  an 
affecting  and  pointed  manner.  He  observed  and  lament- 
ed the  difficulties  of  her  situation;  but  entreated  her  to 
struggle  against  them  with  discretion,  and  not  with  impa- 
tience. He  exhorted  her  to  educate  her  children  in  the 
fear  of  God,  and  to  second  such  education  by  her  own 
pious  example.  After  assuring  her  that  her  conduct  on 
the  present  occasion  had  filled  him  with  the  utmost  horror, 


1 1 


LIKE  OT  RET.  J.  FLETCHEB. 


and  that  he  could  not  but  tremble  for  the  consequences 
of  it,  he  concluded  his  address  by  alarming  her  fears, 
lest  the  imprecation  she  had  uttered  should  be  followed 
by  some  unexpected  family  affliction.  That  same  day 
the  widow,  in  her  return  to  Nyon,  embarked  upon  the 
lake,  where  she  was  overtaken  with  a  tremendous  storm, 
and  brought  to  the  very  point  of  perishing.  In  the  midst 
•of  her  danger,  the  words  of  her  young  prophet,  as  she  ever 
afterward  termed  Mr.  Fletcher,  were  deeply  impressed 
upon  her  mind.  But  they  shortly  returned  upon  her  in 
a  most  forcible  manner,  with  the  melancholy  intelligence, 
that  two  of  her  sons  were  lost  upon  the  lake,  and  the  third 
crushed  to  death  at  one  of  the  gates  of  Geneva.  At  this 
time  Mr.  Fletcher  was  not  more  than  fourteen  years  of  age. 

7.  Whi4e  Mr.  Fletcher  was  yet  a  youth,  his  life  was 
sundry  times  in  imminent  danger,  but  was  mercifully  pre- 
served. One  day,  as  he  informed  Mrs.  Fletcher,  he  and 
his  elder  brother,  being  about  to  exercise  themselves  in 
fencing,  had  taken  real,  instead  of  wooden  swords,  with 
buttons  fixed  upon  the  points  of  them.  His  brother 
making  a  hard  push  at  him,  the  button  upon  the  point 
of  his  sword  split  in  two,  and  the  sword  entered  Mr. 
Fletcher's  side,  near  his  bowels,  and  gave  him  so  deep 
a  wound  that  he  carried  the  scar  of  it  to  his  grave. 

At  another  time,  he  and  his  brother  went  upon  the  lake 
of  Geneva  in  a  little  boat,  and  rowed  forward  till,  being 
out  of  sight  of  land,  they  knew  not  what  way  they  were 
going,  nor  whether  they  were  approaching  or  removing 
farther  from  the  shore  from  which  they  had  set  out.  The 
evening  now  came  on,  and  it  was  beginning  to  grow  dark, 
and  as  they  were  proceeding  toward  the  middle  of  the 
lake,  in  all  probability  they  would  have  been  lost,  had  it 
not  providentially  happened  that,  in  consequence  of  some 
news  arriving  in  town,  the  bells  began  to  ring.  They 
could  but  just  hear  them,  but  were  soon  convinced  that 
instead  of  rowing  to  land,  as  they  had  intended,  they  had 
been  proceeding  farther  and  farther  from  it.  Making 
now  toward  the  quarter  from  which  they  perceived  the 
sound  to  come,  they  found  they  had  just  strength  enough 
left  to  reach  the  shore. 

8.  To  these  accounts  of  his  remarkable  preservation 
given  by  himself  to  Mrs.  Fletcher,  I  shall  add  some  still 
iuore  remarkable,  which  he  gave  to  Mr.  Samuel  Webb,  of 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


15 


London,  then  residing  at  Madeley,  as  related  in  the  short 
Narrative  of  his  Life  and  Death,  published  by  the  liev. 
Mir.  Wesley.  "  When  I  was  a  lad,  I  had  a  design  to  get 
some  fruit  out  of  my  father's  garden.  The  door  being 
locked,  I  could  not  get  in,  but  by  climbing  over  the  wall. 
This  was  very  high  :  but  with  some  difficulty  I  got  to  the 
top  of  it.  As  I  was  walking  upon  it,  my  foot  slipped,  and 
I  fell  down  to  the  bottom.  But  just  where  I  fell,  a  large 
quantity  of  fresh-made  mortar  was  laid.  I  fell  exactly  upon 
it.  This  broke  my  fall,  or  it  might  have  cost  me  my  life." 

Again.  "  Once  as  I  was  swimming  by  myself  in  a  deep 
water,  one  end  of  a  strong  riband  which  bound  my  hair, 
getting  loose,  I  know  not  how,  and  twisting  about  my  leg, 
tied  me  as  it  were  neck  and  heels.  I  strove  with  all  my 
strength  to  disengage  myself:  but  it  was  to  no  purpose. 
No  person  being  within  call,  I  gave  myself  up  for  lost. 
But  when  I  had  given  over  struggling,  the  riband  loosed 
of  itself." 

"Another  instance  of  the  tender  care  which  God  hail 
over  me,  was  as  follows  :  One  evening  I  and  four  young 
gentlemen,  in  high  spirits,  made  a  solemn  agreement 
with  each  other  to  swim  next  day  to  a  rocky  island,  five 
miles  distant  from  the  shore.  But  this  foolish  adventure 
was  within  a  very  little  of  costing  us  all  our  lives.  I 
and  another  indeed  did  with  great  difficulty  and  hazard 
swim  to  the  island.  But  when  we  came  thither,  the  rock 
was  so  steep  and  smooth,  that  we  could  not  possibly 
climb  up.  After  swimming  around  several  times,  and 
making  many  ineffectual  efforts,  we  thought  we  must 
perisli  there.  But  at  length  one  of  us  found  a  place, 
where  he  made  a  shift  to  crawl  up.  He  then  helped  his 
companion.  The  others  swam  about  half  way,  a  boat 
then  took  them  up,  when  they  were  just  sinking.  Ano- 
ther boat  which  he  had  ordered  to  follow  us,  afterward 
-came  and  took  us  home." 

9.  But  the  deliverance  of  which  he  gave  an  account  in 
the  year  1760,  is  yet  more  wonderful.  "Some  years 
since  I  lived  a-t  a  place  very  near  the  river  Rhine.  In 
that  part  it  is  broader  than  the  Thames  at  London  bridge, 
and  extremely  rapid.  But  having  been  long  practised 
in  swimming,  I  made  no  scruple  of  going  into  it  at  any 
time.  Only  I  was  always  careful  to  keep  near  the  shore, 
that  the  stream  might  not  carry  me  away.    Once,  how- 


16 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


ever,  being  less  careful  than  usual,  I  was  unawares  drawn 
into  the  mid  channel.  The  water  there  was  extremely- 
rough,  and  poured  along  like  a  galloping  horse.  I  en- 
deavoured to  swim  against  it,  but  in  vain,  till  I  was  hur- 
ried far  from  home.  When  I  was  almost  spent,  I  reste  ; 
upon  my  back,  and  then  looked  about  for  a  landing  place, 
finding  I  must  either  land  or  sink.  With  much  difficulty 
I  got  near  the  shore ;  but  the  rocks  were  so  ragged  and 
sharp  that  I  saw,  if  I  attempted  to  land  there,  I  should  be 
torn  in  pieces.  So  I  was  constrained  to  turn  again  to  the 
mid  stream:  at  last,  despairing  of  life,  I  was  cheered  by 
the  sight  of  a  fine  smooth  creek,  into  which  I  was  swiftly 
carried  by  a  violent  stream.  A  building  stood  directly 
across  it,  which  I  did  not  then  know  to  be  a  powder  mill. 
The  last  thing  I  can  remember,  was  the  striking  of  my 
breast  against  one  of  the  piles  whereon  it  stood.  I  then 
lost  my  senses,  and  knew  nothing  more,  till  I  rose  on  the 
other  side  of  the  mill.  When  I  came  to  myself  I  was  in 
a  calm  safe  place,  perfectly  well,  without  any  soreness 
or  weariness  at  ail.  Nothing  was  amiss  but  the  distance 
of  my  clothes,  the  stream  having  driven  me  five  miles 
from  the  place  where  I  left  them.  Many  persons  gladly 
welcomed  me  on  shore :  one  gentleman,  in  particular, 
who  said,  '  I  looked  when  you  went  under  the  mill,  and 
again  when  you  rose  on  the  other  side.  And  the  time  of 
your  being  immerged  among  the  piles,  was  exactly 
twenty  minutes.' " 

But  some  will  say,  "  Why  this  was  a  miracle  !"  "Un- 
doubtedly," observes  Mr.  Wesley,  "  it  was.  It  was  not 
a  natural  event ;  but  a  work  wrought  above  the  power 
of  nature,  probably  by  the  ministry  of  angels." 

10.  After  Mr.  Fletcher  had  gone  through  the  usual 
course  of  study  at  the  university  of  Geneva,  it  was  the 
desire  of  his  parents  that  he  should  be  a  clergyman. 
"  And  as  far  as  nature  can  furnish  a  man,"  says  Mr. 
Gilpin,  "  for  offices  of  a  sacred  kind,  perhaps  there  never 
was  a  person  better  qualified  to  sustain  the  character  of 
a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ,  than  Mr.  Fletcher.  His  dis- 
position and  habits,  his  sentiments  and  studies,  his  reve- 
rential awe  of  God,  his  insatiable  thirst  after  truth,  and 
his  uncommon  abhorrence  of  vice,  gave  his  friends 
abundant  reason  to  apprehend  that  he  was  marked,  at 
an  early  age,  for  the  service  of  the  Church.  Contrary, 


LIFE  OF  UEV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


17 


however,  to  all  expectation,  and  contrary  to  the  first 
designs  of  his  family,  before  he  had  arrived  to  the  age 
of  twenty,  he  manifested  views  of  a  very  opposite  na- 
ture. His  theological  studies  gave  place  to  the  systems 
of  Yauban  and  Cohorn,  and  he  evidently  preferred  the 
camp  to  the  Church.  All  the  remonstrances  of  his 
friends,  on  this  apparent  change  in  his  disposition,  were 
totally  ineffectual ;  and,  had  it  not  been  for  repeated 
disappointments,  he  would  have  wielded  another  sword 
than  that  of  the  Spirit.  Happily,  his  projects  for  the 
field  were  constantly  baffled  and  blasted  by  the  appoint- 
ments of  that  God  who  reserved  him  for  a  more  import- 
ant scene  of  action.  His  choice  of  the  army  is,  how- 
ever, to  be  imputed  rather  to  principle  than  inclination. 
On  the  one  hand,  he  detested  the  irregularities  and 
vices  to  which  a  military  life  would  expose  him;  on  the 
other,  he  dreaded  the  condemnation  he  might  incur  by 
acquitting  himself  unfaithfully  in  the  pastoral  office.  He 
conceived  it  abundantly  easier  to  toil  for  glory  in  fields 
of  blood  than  to  labour  for  God,  with  unwearied  perse- 
verance, in  the  vineyard  of  the  Church.  Me  believed 
himself  qualified  rather  for  military  operations  than  for 
spiritual  employments,  and  the  exalted  ideas  he  enter- 
tained of  the  holy  ministry  determined  him  to  seek  some 
other  profession  more  adapted  to  the  weakness  of  hu- 
manity, and  be  preferred  being  an  officer  in  the  army 
to  all  "others." 

11.  Mr.  Fletcher  himself,  in  a  letter  to  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Wesley,  dated  November  24,  1750,  a  few  weeks  before 
he  took  orders,  partly  confirms  these  observations  of 
Mr.  Gilpin,  and  partly  assigns  an  additional  reason  why 
lie  then  declined  the  sacred  office  of  the  ministry. 
"  From  the  time  I  first  began  to  feel  the  love  of  God," 
says  he,  ';shed  abroad  in  my  soul,  which  was,  I  think, 
at  seven  years  of  age,  I  resolved  to  oive  myself  up  to 
him  and  to  the  service  of  his  Church  if  ever  I  should  be 
fit  for  it;  but  the  corruption  which  is  in  the  world,  and 
that  which  was  in  my  heart,  soon  weakened,  if  not 
erased,  those  first  characters  which  grace  had  written 
upon  it.  However,  I  went  through  my  studies  with  a  de- 
sign of  going  into  orders  ;  but  afterward,  upon  serious 
reflection,  feeling  I  was  unequal  to  so  great  a  burden,  . 
and  disgusted  by  the  necessity  I  should  be  under  to 


18 


LIFE  OK  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


subscribe  the  doctrine  of  predestination,  I  yielded  to  the 
desire  of  those  of  my  friends  who  would  have  me  to  go 
into  the  army-  But  just  before  I  was  quite  engaged  in 
a  military  employment,  I  met  with  such  disappointments 
as  occasioned  my  coming  to  England."  Add  to  this, 
that  he  disapproved  of  the  motives  which  had  chiefly 
induced  his  parents  to  desire  him  to  enter  into  the  mi- 
nistry. This  appears  from  an  observation  which  he 
made  to  Mrs.  Fletcher  one  day,  while  he  was  showing 
her  a  piece  of  painting  which  he  had  executed  when  lie 
was  about  sixteen  years  of  age.  "I  was  then  studying 
fortification,"  said  he,  "  with  a  view  to  go  into  the  aim  v. 
Once,  indeed,  my  friends  having  a  prospect  of  obtaining 
prefei-ment  for  me,  wanted  me  to  go  into  the  Church. 
But  that  motive  I  thought  by  no  means  right,  and  there- 
fore still  pursued  my  plan  of  being  a  soldier."  So  that, 
according  to  his  own  account,  he  at  that  time  declined 
the  ministry,  for  three  reasons:  1st.  Because  he  judged 
himself  unqualified  for  so  high  and  holy  a  calling:  2dly. 
He  scrupled  subscribing  the  doctrine  of  predestination, 
which,  it  seems,  he  must  have  done  to  have  taken  orders 
in  Switzerland;  and,  3dly.  He  disapproved  of  under- 
dertaking  so  sacred  an  office  as  that  of  preaching  the 
Gospel  in  order  to  obtain  preferment,  or  with  any 
worldly  views  whatever. 

12.  Not  being  able  to  gain  the  consent  of  his  parents 
to  his  going  into  the  army,  according  to  Mr.  Wesley,  he 
went  away  to  Lisbon.  Here,  it  seems,  he  gathered  a 
company  of  his  own  countrymen,  accepted  of  a  captain's 
commission,  and  engaged  to  serve  the  king  of  Portugal 
on  board  a  man-of-war,  which  was  just  then  getting 
ready  with  all  speed  in  order  to  sail  to  Brazil.  lie  then 
wrote  to  his  parents,  begging  them  to  send  him  a  con- 
siderable sum  of  money.  Of  this  he  expected  to  make 
a  vast  advantage.  But  they  refused  him.  Unmoved  by 
this,  he  determined  to  go  without  it  as  soon  as  the  ship 
sailed.  But  in  the  morning  the  maid,  waiting  on  him  at 
breakfast,  let  the  tea  kettle  fall,  and  so  scalded  his  leg 
that  he  kept  his  bed  for  a  considerable  time  after. 
During  that  time  the  ship  sailed  for  Brazil.  But  it  was 
observed  that  the  ship  was  heard  of  no  more. 

13.  His  desire  of  being  an  officer  in  the  army,  Mr. 
Wesley  tells  us,  continued  after  he  returned  from  Lis- 


LIFE  OK  REV.  J.  FI.ETCIIEH. 


1!) 


boll.  And  when  he  was  informed  that  his  uncle,  then  a 
colonel  in  the  Dutch  service,  had  procured  a  commission 
for  hiin,  he  joyfully  set  out  for  Flanders.  But  just  at 
that  time  the  peace  was  concluded  ;  and  his  uncle  dying 
quickly  after,  his  hopes  were  blasted,  and  he  gave  up 
all  thoughts  oi"  being  a  soldier.  And,  being  disengaged 
from  all  business,  he  thought  it  would  not  be  amiss  to 
spend  a  little  time  in  England. 

14.  Coming  to  the  custom  house  in  London  with  some 
other  young  gentlemen,  none  of  whom  could  speak  any 
English,  they  were  treated  with  the  utmost  surliness  and 
ill  manners  by  some  brutish  custom-house  officers. 
These  not  only  took  out  and  jumbled  together  all  the 
things  that  were  in  their  portmanteaus,  but  took  away 
their  letters  of  recommendation,  telling  them,  "All  let- 
ters must  be  sent  by  the  post."  It  is  justly  observed  by 
Mr.  Wesley,  that  "  they  are  such  saucy  and  ill-manner- 
ed wretches  as  these  who  bring  up  an  evil  report  on  our 
nation.  Britons  might  well  be  styled  Hos-pitibus  fori, 
if  they  were,  all  like  these  vermin." 

15.  From  hence  they  went  to  an  inn;  but  here  they 
were  under  another  difficulty.  As  they  spoke  no  Eng- 
lish they  could  not  tell  how  to  exchange  their  foreign 
into  English  money;  till  Mr.  Fletcher,  going  to  the  door, 
heard  a  well  dressed  Jew  talking  French.  He  told  him 
the  difficulty  they  were  under  with  regard  to  the  ex- 
change of  money.  The  Jew  replied,  "Give  me  your 
money  and  I  will  get  it  changed  in  five  minutes."  Mr. 
Fletcher  without  delay  gave  him  his  purse,  in  which 
were  ninety  pounds.  As  soon  as  he  came  back  to  his 
company  he  told  them  what  he  had  done.  They  all 
cried  out  with  one  voice,  "  Then  your  money  is  gone. 
You  need  never  expect  to  see  a  crown  or  a  doit  of  it 
anyr  more.  Men  are  constantly  wai ting  about  the  doors 
of  these  inns  on  purpose  to  take  in  young  strangers." 
Seeing  no  remedy,  no  way  to  help  himself,  he  could 
only  commend  his  cause  to  God.  And  that  was  enough. 
Before  they  had  done  breakfast,  in  came  the  Jew  and 
brought  him  the  whole  money. 

Hi.  Inquiring  for  a  person  who  was  proper  to  perfect 
him  in  the  English  tongue,  (the  rudiments  of  which  he 
had  begun  to  learn  before  he  left  Geneva,)  he  was  re- 
commended to  Mr.  Burchcll,  who  then  kept  a  boarding 


m 


LIFE  OF  KEV.  J.  FI.ETCHER. 


school  at  South  Mimms,  in  Hertfordshire.  And  when 
Mr.  Burchell  removed  to  Hatfield  he  chose  to  remove 
with  him.  All  the  time  he  was  both  at  South  Mimms 
and  at  Hatfield  he  was  of  a  serious  and  reserved  beha- 
viour; very  different  from  that  of  the  other  young  gen- 
tlemen who  were  his  fellow  students.  Here  he  diligently 
studied  both  the  English  language  and  all  the  branches 
of  polite  literature.  Meantime  his  easy  and  genteel 
behaviour,  together  with  his  eminent  sweetness  of  tem- 
per, gained  him  the  esteem  as  well  as  the  affection  of 
all  that  conversed  with  him.  He  frequently  visited  some 
of  the  first  families  in  Hatfield,  who  were  all  fond  of  his 
conversation,  so  lively  and  ingenious,  at  the  same  time 
evidencing  both  the  gentleman  and  the  scholar.  All  this 
time  he  had  the  fear  of  God  deeply  rooted  in  his  heart- 
But  he  had  none  to  take  him  by  the  hand  and  lead  him 
forward  in  the  ways  of  God.  He  stayed  with  Mr.  Bur- 
chell about  eighteen  months,  who  loved  him  as  his  own 
son. 

17.  Afterward  one  Mr.  Decamps,  a  French  minister, 
to  whom  he  had  been  recommended,  procured  him  the 
place  of  tutor  to  the  two  sons  of  Thomas  Hill,  Esquire, 
at  Ternhal],  in  Shropshire.  In  the  year  1752,  he  re- 
moved into  Mr.  Hill's  family,  and  entered  upon  the  im- 
portant province  of  instructing  the  young  gentlemen. 
He  still  feared  God,  but  had  not  yet  an  experimental 
sense  of  his  love.  Nor  was  he  convinced  of  his  own 
fallen  state,  till  one  Sunday  evening  a  servant  came  in 
to  make  up  his  fire,  while  he  was  writing  some  music, 
who,  looking  at  him  with  serious  concern,  said,  "  Sir,  I 
am  sorry  to  see  you  so  employed  on  the  Lord's  day." 
At  first  his  pride  was  alarmed,  and  his  resentment  moved 
at  being  reproved  by  a  servant.  But  upon  reflection,  he 
felt  the  reproof  was  just.  He  immediately  put  away  his 
music,  and  from  that  very  hour  became  a  strict  observer 
of  the  Lord's  day. 

18.  "I  have  heard,"  says  Mr.  Wesley,  "two  very 
different  accounts  of  the  manner  wherein  he  had  the  first 
notice  of  the  people  called  Methodists.  But  I  think  it 
reasonable  to  prefer  to  any  other  that  which  I  received 
from  his  own  mouth.    This  was  as  follows: — 

"  When  Mr.  Hill  went  to  London  to  attend  the  par- 
liament, he  took  his  family  and  Mr.  Fletcher  with  him. 


LIFE  OT  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


21 


While  they  stopped  at  St.  Albans,  he  walked  out  into 
the  town,  and  did  not  return  till  they  were  set  out  for 
London.  A  horee  being  left  for  him,  he  rode  after,  and 
overtook,  them  in  the  evening.  Mr.  Hill  asking  him 
why  he  stayed  behind,  he  said,  'As  I  Mas  walking,  I 
met  with  a  poor  old  woman,  who  talked  so  sweetly  of 
Jesus  Christ,  that  I  knew  not  how  the  time  passed  away.' 
4 1  shall  wonder,'  said  Mrs.  H.,  '  if  our  tutor  does  not  turn 
Methodist  by  and  by.'  'Methodist,  madam,'  said  he, 
4  pray  what  is  that?'  She  replied,  '  Why,  the  Methodists 
are  a  people  that  do  nothing  but  pray  :  they  are  praying 
all  day  and  all  night.'  'Are  they?'  said  he,  'then  by 
the  ht  ip  of  God,"l  will  find  them  out  if  they  be  above 
ground.'  He  did  find  them  out  not  long  after,  and  was 
admitted  into  the  society.  And  from  this  time,  when- 
ever he  was  in  town,  he  met  in  Mr.  Richard  Edwards' 
class.  This  he  found  so  profitable  to  his  soul,  that  he 
lost  no  opportunity  of  meeting.  And  he  retained  a  pe- 
culiar regard  for  Mr.  Edwards  till  the  day  of  his  death," 


CHAPTER  II. 
Account  of  his  conversion. 

1.  Notwithstanding  the  early  appearance  of  piety 
in  Mr.  Fletcher,  it  is  evident  that  he  continued,  for  a  long 
time,  a  perfect  stranger  to  the  true  nature  of  Christianity, 
He  was  naturally  of  a  high  and  ambitious  turn,  though 
his  ambition  was  sufficiently  refined  for  religious  as  well 
as  scientific  pursuits.  He  aspired  after  rectitude,  and 
was  anxious  to  possess  every  moral  perfection.  He 
counted  much  upon  the  dignity  of  human  nature,  and 
was  ambitious  to  act  in  a  manner  becoming  his  exalted 
ideas  of  that  dignity.  And  here  he  outstripped  the 
multitude  in  an  uncommon  degree.  He  was  rigidly  just 
in  his  dealings,  and  inflexibly  true  to  his  word ;  he  was 
a  strict  observer  of  his  several  duties  in  every  relation 
of  life  ;  his  sentiments  were  liberal,  and  his  charity  pro- 
fuse ;  he  was  prudent  in  his  conduct,  and  courteous  in 
his  deportment;  he  was  a  diligent  inquirer  after  truth, 
and  a  strenuous  advocate  for  virtue  ;  he  was  frequent  in 
sacred  meditations,  and  was  a  regular  attendant  atpublie 


22 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


worship.  Possessed  of  so  many  moral  accomplish- 
ments, while  he  was  admired  by  his  friends,  it  is  no  won- 
der that  he  should  cast  a  look  of  self-complacency  upon 
his  character,  and  consider  himself,  with  respect  to  his 
attainments  in  virtue,  abundantly  superior  to  the  com- 
mon herd  of  mankind.  But  while  he  was  taken  up  in 
congratulating  himself  upon  his  own  fancied  eminence 
in  piety,  he  was  an  absolute  stranger  to  that  unfeigned 
sorrow  for  sin  which  is  the  first  step  toward  the  king- 
dom of  God.  It  was  not  till  after  he  had  resided  some 
time  in  England  that  he  became  experimentally  acquaint- 
ed with  the  nature  of  true  repentance,.  This,  according 
to  Mrs.  Fletcher's  account,  was  in  the  following  manner  : 
2.  Meeting  with  a  person  who  asked  him  to  go  and 
hear  the  Methodists,  he  readily  consented,  and  from 
that  time  became  more  and  more  conscious  that  a  change 
of  heart  was  necessary  to  make  him  happy.  He  now 
began  to  strive  with  the  utmost  diligence,  according  to 
the  light  he  had,  hoping,  by  doing  much,  to  render  him- 
self acceptable  to  God.  But  one  day  hearing  a  sermon 
preached  by  a  clergyman  whose  name  was  Green,  he 
was  convinced  he  did  not  understand  the  nature  of  saving 
faith.  This  conviction  caused  many  reflections  to  arise 
in  his  mind.  "  Is  it  possible,"  thought  he,  "  that  I,  who 
have  always  been  accounted  so  religious,  who  have  made 
divinity  my  study  and  received  the  premium  of  piety 
(so  called)  from  the  university  for  my  writings  on  Divine 
subjects, — is  it  possible  that  I  should  yet  be  so  ignorant 
as  not  to  know  what  faith  is  ?"  But  the  more  he  examined 
himself,  and  considered  the  subject,  the  more  he  was 
convinced  of  the  momentous  truth.  And  beginning  also 
to  see  his  sinfulness  and  guilt,  and  the  entire  corruption 
and  depravity  of  his  whole  nature,  his  hope  of  being 
able  to  reconcile  himself  to  God  by  his  own  works  began 
to  die  away.  He  sought,  however,  by  the  most  rigor- 
ous austerities  to  conquer  this  evil  nature,  and  bring  into 
his  soul  a  heaven-born  peace.  But  alas  !  the  more  he 
strove,  the  more  he  saw  and  felt  that  all  his  soul  was 
sin.  And  now  he  was  entirely  at  a  loss  what  to  do,  be- 
ing conscious  of  his  danger,  and  seeing  no  way  to  escape, 
till  at  last  he  discovered  that  nothing,  except  a  revelation 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  to  his  heart,  could  make  him  a  true 
believer. 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


23 


3,  But  a  few  pages  transcribed  from  a  diary,  written 
by  his  own  hand,  when  he  was  about  twenty-five  years 
of  age,  will  give  the  reader  the  best  information  on  this 
subject. 

"The  12th  of  January,  1755,  I  received  the  sacra- 
ment, though  my  heart  w  as  as  hard  as  a  flint.  The  fol- 
lowing day,  I  felt  the  tyranny  of  sin  more  than  ever,  and 
an  uncommon  coldness  in  all  religious  duties.  I  felt  the 
burden  of  my  corruptions  heavier  than  ever ;  there  w  as 
no  rest  in  my  flesh.  I  called  upon  the  Lord,  but  w  ith 
such  heaviness  as  made  me  fear  it  was  lost  labour.  Th<i 
more  I  prayed  for  victory  over  sin,  the  more  I  w  as  con- 
quered. Many  a  time  did  I  take  up  the  Bible  to  seek 
comfort,  but  not  being  able  to  read,  I  shut  it  again.  The 
thoughts  which  engrossed  my  mind  were  generally 
these  :  I  am  undone.  I  have  wandered  from  God  more 
than  ever.  I  have  trampled  under  foot  the  frequent  con- 
victions which  God  was  pleased  to  work  in  my  heart. 
Instead  of  going  straight  to  Christ,  I  have  wasted  my 
time  in  fighting  against  sin  w  ith  the  dim  light  of  my 
reason,  and  the  mere  use  of  the  means  of  grace;  as  if 
the  means  would  do  me  good  w  ithout  the  blessing  and 
pow  er  of  God.  I  fear  my  knowledge  of  Christ  is  only 
speculative,  and  does  not  reach  my  heart.  I  never  had 
faith;  and  without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God. 
Therefore,  all  my  thoughts,  words,  and  works,  however 
specious  before  men,  are  utterly  sinful  before  God.  And 
if  I  am  not  washed  and  renewed  before  I  go  hence,  I  am 
lost  to  all  eternity. 

4.  "When  I  saw  that  aTl  my  endeavours  availed  no- 
thing toward  conquering  sin,  I  almost  gave  up  all  hope, 
and  resolved  to  sin  on,  and  go  to  heH.  But  I  remember 
there  w  as  a  sort  of  sweetness  even  in  the  midst  of  these 
abominable  thoughts.  If  I  go  to  hell,  said  I,  I  will  serve 
God  there  :  and  since  I  cannot  be  an  instance  of  his 
mercy  in  heaven,  I  will  be  a  monument  of  his  justice  in 
hell :  and  if  I  show  forth  his  glory  one  way  or  the  other, 
I  am  content.  But  I  soon  recovered  my  ground.  I 
thought  Christ  died  for  all,  therefore  he  died  for  me. 
He  died  to  pluck  such  sinners  as  I  am  as  brands  out  of 
the  burning.  And  as  I  sincerely  desire  to  be  his,  he  will 
surely  take  me  to  himself — he  will  surely  let  me  know, 
before  I  die,  that  he  hath  died  for  me,  and  will  break 


21 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


asunder  these  chains  wherewith  I  am  bound.  If  he 
leave  me  for  a  little  while  in  this  dreadful  state,  it  is  only 
to  show  me  the  depth  of  the  misery  he  will  draw  mc  out 
of.  I  must  then  humble  myself  under  his  mighty  hand, 
and  he  will  lift  me  up  in  his  appointed  time.  But  then 
I  thought,  this,  perhaps,  may  not  be  till  my  dying  hour — 
and  must  I  sin  on  till  then  ?  How  can  I  do  this  ?  But  I 
thought  again,  my  Saviour  was  about  thirty-three  years 
working  out  my  salvation  ;  let  me  wait  for  him  as  long, 
and  then  I  may  have  some  excuse  for  my  impatience. 
Does  God  owe  me  any  thing?  Is  lie  bound  to  time  and 
place?  Do  I  deserve  any  thing  at  his  hands  but  damna- 
tion? I  would  here  observe  that  anger  in  particular 
seemed  to  be  one  of  the  sins  I  could  never  overcome. 
So  I  went  on,  sinning  and  repenting,  and  sinning  again  ; 
but  still  calling  on  God's  mercy  through  Christ. 

5.  "I  was  now  beat  out  of  all  my  strongholds.  I  felt 
my  helplessness,  and  lay  at  the  feet  of  Christ.  I  cried, 
though  coldly,  yet  I  believe  sincerely,  'Save  me,  Lord, 
as  a  brand  snatched  out  of  the  lire  ;  give  me  justifying 
faith  in  thy  blood  ;  cleanse  me  from  my  sins ;  for  the 
devil  will  surely  reign  over  me,  until  thou  shalt  take  me 
into  thy  hand.  I  shall  only  be  an  instrument  in  his  hand 
to  work  wickedness,  until  thou  shalt  stretch  fortli  thine 
almighty  arm,  and  save  thy  lost  creature  by  free  unme- 
rited grace.'  I  seldom  went  to  private  prayer,  but  this 
thought  came  into  my  mind  :  This  may  be  the  happy 
hour  when  thou  wilt  prevail  with  God;  but  still  I  was 
disappointed.  I  cried  to  God  ;  but  my  heart  was  so  hard 
that  I  feared  it  did  not  go  with  my  lips.  I  strove,  but  it 
was  so  coldly  that  often  I  had  fits  of  drowsiness  even  in 
my  prayers.  When  overcome  with  heaviness,  I  went  to 
bed,  beseeching  God  to  spare  me  till  next  day,  that  I 
might  renew  my  wrestling  with  him  till  I  should  prevail. 

6.  "On  Sunday  the  19th,  in  the  evening,  I  heard  an 
excellent  sermon  on  these  words,  '  Being  justified  by 
faith,  we  have  peace  with  God,  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.'  I  heard  it  attentively,  but  my  heart  was  not 
moved  in  the  least ;  I  was  only  still  more  convinced  that 
I  was  an  unbeliever,  that  I  was  not  justified  by  faith,  and 
that  till  I  was,  I  should  never  have  peace  with  God.  The 
hymn  after  the  sermon  suited  the  subject ;  but  I  could 
not  join  in  singing  it.    So  I  sat  mourning,  while  others 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


SIS 


rejoiced  in  God  their  Saviour.  I  went  home,  still  re- 
solving to  wrestle  with  the  Lord  like  Jacob,  till  I  should 
become  a  prevailing  Israel. 

"I  begged  of  God  the  following  day  to  show  me  the 
wickedness  of  my  heart,  and  to  fit  me  for  his  pardoning 
mercy.  I  besought  him  to  increase  my  convictions,  for 
I  was  afraid  I  did  not  mourn  enough  for  my  sins.  But 
I  found  relief  in  Mr.  Wesley's  Journal,  where  1  learned 
that  we  should  not  build  on  what  we  feel ;  but  go  to 
Christ  with  all  our  sins,  and  all  our  hardness  of  heart. 
On  the  21st,  I  began  to  write  part  of  what  filled  my 
heart,  namely,  a  confession  of  my  sins,  misery,  and 
helplessness,  together  with  a  resolution  to  seek  Christ, 
even  unto  death.  But  my  business  calling  me  away,  I 
had  no  heart  to  resume  the  subject.  In  the  evening  I 
read  the  Scriptures,  and  found  a  sort  of  pleasure  in  see- 
ing a  picture  of  my  wickedness  so  exactly  drawn  in  the 
third  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  and  that  of 
my  condition  in  the  seventh.  And  now  I  felt  some  hope 
that  Cod  would  carry  on  in  me  the  work  he  had  begun. 

"  I  often  wished  to  be  acquainted  with  some  one  who 
had  been  just  in  my  state,  and  resolved  to  seek  for  one 
to  whom  I  might  unbosom  my  whole  soul,  and  apply  for 
advice.  As  I  had  heard  that  mourners  sometimes  found 
comfort  in  reading  over  any  particular  text  of  Scripture 
they  opened  upon,  I  opened  the  Bible  once  for  that  pur- 
pose;  but  I  found  nothing  that  gave  me  comfort,  and  so 
I  did  it  no  more,  for  fear  of  tempting  God. 

7.  "  Thursday,  my  fast  day,  Satan  beset  me  hard  ;  I 
sinned,  and  grievously  too.  And  now  I  almost  gave  up 
all  hope.  I  mourned  deeply,  but  with  a  heart  as  hard  as 
ever.  I  was  on  the  brink  of  despair,  and  continued, 
nevertheless,  to  fall  into  sin,  as  often  as  I  was  assaulted 
with  temptation.  But  I  must  observe  that  all  this  while, 
though  I  had  a  clear  sense  of  my  wickednefs,  and  of 
what  I  deserved  ;  and  though  I  often  thought  that  hell 
would  be  my  portion,  if  God  did  not  soon  pity  me,  yet  I 
never  was  much  afraid  of  it.  Whether  this  was  owing 
to  a  secret  hope  lodged  in  my  mind,  or  to  hardness  of 
heart,  I  know  not ;  but  I  was  continually  crying  out, 
'What  stupidity  !  I  see  myself  hanging  as  by  a  thread 
over  hell !  and  yet  I  am  not  afraid — but  sin  on  !  O  what 
is  man  without  the  grace  of  God  ?  a  very  devil  in  wick- 
2 


96 


1IFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


edness,  though  inferior  to  him  in  experience  and  power.' 
In  the  evening  I  went  to  a  friend,  and  told  him  something 
of  my  present  state  ;  he  endeavoured  to  administer  com- 
fort, but  it  did  not  suit  my  case ;  there  is  no  peace  to  a 
sinner  unless  it  come  from  above.  When  we  parted,  he 
gave  me  some  advice  which  suited  my  condition  better  ; 
4  God  (said  he)  is  merciful ;  God  loves  you  ;  and  if  he 
deny  you  any  thing,  it  is  for  your  good ;  you  deserve 
nothing  at  his  hands;  wait  then  patiently  for  him,  and 
never  give  up  your  hope.'  I  went  home  resolved  to  fol- 
low his  advice,  though  I  should  stay  till  death. 

8.  "  I  had  purposed  to  receive  the  Lord's  Supper  the 
following  Sunday  ;  I  therefore  returned  to  my  room,  and 
looked  out  a  sacramental  hymn.  I  learned  it  by  heart, 
and  prayed  it  over  many  times,  sometimes  with  heavi- 
ness enough,  at  others  with  some  devotion,  intending 
to  repeat  it  at  the  table.  I  then  went  to  bed,  commend- 
ing myself  to  God  with  rather  more  hope  and  peace  than 
I  had  felt  for  some  time.  But  Satan  waked  while  I  slept. 
I  dreamed  I  had  committed  grievous  and  abominable 
sins  ;  I  awoke  amazed  and  confounded,  and  rising  with  a 
detestation  of  the  corruption  of  my  senses  and  imagina- 
tion, I  fell  upon  my  knees,  and  prayed  with  more  faith 
and  less  wanderings  than  usual ;  and  afterward  went 
about  my  business  with  an  uncommon  cheerfulness.  It 
was  not  long  before  I  was  tempted  by  my  besetting  sin, 
but  found  myself  a  new  creature.  My  soul  was  not  even 
ruffled.  I  took  not  much  notice  of  it  at  first;  but  hav- 
ing withstood  two  or  three  temptations,  and  feeling  peace 
in  my  soul,  through  the  whole  of  them,  I  began  to  think 
it  was  the  Lord's  doing.  Afterward  it  was  suggested  to 
me  that  it  was  great  presumption  for  such  a  sinner  to 
hope  for  so  great  a  mercy.  However,  I  prayed  I  might 
not  be  permitted  to  fall  into  a  delusion  ;  but  the  more  I 
prayed,  the  more  I  saw  it  was  real.  For  though  sin 
stirred  all  the  day  long,  I  always  overcame  it  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord. 

9.  "In  the  evening  I  read  the  experience  of  some  of 
God's  children,  and  found  my  case  agreed  with  theirs, 
and  suited  the  sermon  I  had  heard  on  justifying  faith  ; 
so  that  my  hope  increased.  I  entreated  the  Lord  to  do 
to  his  servant  according  to  his  mercy,  and  take  all  the 
glory  to  himself.    I  prayed  earnestly  and  with  an  hum- 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


ble  assurance,  though  without  great  emotions  of  joy, 
that  I  might  have  dominion  over  sin,  and  peace  with  God  ; 
not  doubting  but  that  joy  and  a  full  assurrance  of  faith 
would  be  imparted  to  me  in  God's  good  time.  I  con- 
tinued calling  upon  the  Lord  for  an  increase  of  faith  ; 
for  still  I  felt  some  fear  of  being  in  a  delusion  :  and 
having  continued  my  supplication  till  near  one  in  the 
morning,  I  then  opened  my  Bible  on  these  words,  Psa. 
lv,  22,  4  Cast  thy  burden  on  the  Lord,  and  he  shall  sus- 
tain thee;  he  will  not  surlier  the  righteous  to  be  moved.' 
Filled  with  joy,  I  fell  again  on  my  knees  to  beg  of  God 
that  I  might  always  cast  my  burden  upon  him.  I  took 
up  my  Bible  again,  and  opened  it  on  these  words,  Deut. 
xxxi,  'I  will  be  with  thee,  I  will  not  fail  thee,  neither 
forsake  thee  ;  fear  not,  neither  be  dismayed.'  My  hope; 
was  now  greatly  increased  ;  I  thought  I  saw  myself 
conqueror  over  sin,  hell,  and  all  manner  of  affliction. 

M  With  this  comfortable  promise  I  shut  up  my  Bible, 
being  now  perfectly  satisfied.  As  I  shut  it,  I  cast  my 
eye  on  that  word,  'Whatsoever  you  shall  ask  in  my 
name,  I  will  do  it.'  So  having  asked  grace  of  God  to 
serve  him  till  death,  I  went  cheerfully  to  take  my  rest." 

10.  So  far  we  have  Mr.  Fletcher's  account,  written 
with  his  own  hand.  To  this  I  add  what  Mrs.  Fletcher 
says  she  heard  him  speak  concerning  his  experience  at 
this  time,  viz.,  that  he  still  continued  to  plead  with  the 
Lord  to  take  more  full  possession  of  his  heart,  and 
sought  with  unwearied  assiduity  to  receive  a  brighter 
manifestation  of  God's  love  to  his  soul :  till  one  day,  as 
he  was  in  earnest  prayer,  lying  prostrate  on  his  face  be- 
fore the  Lord,  he  had  a  view,  by  faith,  of  our  Saviour 
hanging  and  bleeding  on  the  cross,  and  at  the  same  time 
these  words  were  applied  with  power  to  his  heart : — 
"Seized  by  the  rage  of  sinful  men, 
I  see  Christ  bound,  and  bruised,  and  slain: 

'Tis  done,  the  martyr  dies! 
His  life  to  ransom  ours,  is  given, 
And  lo !  the  fiercest  fire  of  heaven 
Consumes  the  sacrifice. 
"  He  suffers  both  from  men  and  God, 
He  baars  the  universal  load 

Of  guilt  and  misery  ! 
He  suffers  to  reverse  our  doom, 
And  lo,  my  Lord  is  here  become 
The  bread  of  life  to  me!" 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


Now  all  his  bonds  were  broken  :  he  breather!  a  purer 
air,  and  was  able  to  say  with  confidence,  "  The  life  I 
now  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  by  faith  in  the  Son  of  God, 
who  loved  me  and  gave  himself  for  me."  By  means  of 
this  faith  his  soul  was  freed,  and  sin  was  put  under  his 
feet.  Knowing  in  whom  he  had  believed,  he  could  tri- 
umph in  the  Lord,  and  praise  the  God  of  his  salvation. 

11.  About  this  time  Mr.  Fletcher  addressed  an  epistle 
to  his  brother,  in  which  he  gives  a  farther  description  of 
the  change  that  had  taken  place  in  bis  own  mind,  in  the 
following  words  : — 

"  I  speak  from  experience.  I  have  been  successively 
deluded  by  all  those  desires  which  I  here  so  sincerely 
reprobate,  and  sometimes  I  have  been  the  sport  of  them 
all  at  once.  This  will  appear  incredible,  except  to  those 
who  have  discovered  that  the  heart  of  unregenerate  man 
is  nothing  more  than  a  chaos  of  obscurity,  and  a  mass 
of  contradictions.  If  you  have  any  acquaintance  with 
yourself,  you  will  readily  subscribe  to  this  description 
of  the  human  heart;  and  if  you  are  without  this  ac- 
quaintance, then  rest  assured,  my  dear  brother,  that 
whatever  your  pursuit  may  be,  you  are  as  far  from  true 
happiness  as  the  most  wretched  of  men.  The  meteor 
you  are  following  still  flies  before  you  ;  frequently  it 
disappears,  and  never  shows  itself  but  to  allure  you  to 
the  brink  of  some  unlooked-for  precipice. 

"  Every  unconverted  man  must  necessarily  come  under 
one  or  other  of  the  following  descriptions :  he  is  either 
a  voluptuary,  a  worldly  minded  person,  or  a  Pharisaical 
philosopher  ;  or,  perhaps,  like  myself,  he  may  be  all  of 
these  at  the  same  time:  and,  what  is  still  more  extraor- 
dinary, he  may  be  so,  not  only  without  believing,  but 
even  without  once  suspecting  it.  Indeed,  nothing  is 
more  common  among  men  than  an  entire  blindness  to 
their  own  real  characters.  How  long  have  I  placed  my 
happiness  in  mere  chimeras  !  How  often  have  I  ground- 
ed my  vain  hopes  upon  imaginary  foundations?  I  have 
been  constantly  employed  in  framing  designs  for  my  own 
felicity ;  but  my  disappointments  have  been  as  frequent 
and  various  as  my  projects.  In  the  midst  of  my  idle 
reveries,  how  often  have  I  said  to  myself,  '  Drag  thy 
weary  feet  but  to  the  summit  of  yonder  eminence, — a 
situation  beyond  which  the  world  has  nothing  to  present 


LIFE  Or  REV.  J.  fLETCHER. 


39 


more  adequate  to  thy  wishes,  and  there  thou  shall  sit 
down  in  a  state  of  repose.'  On  my  arrival,  however,  at 
the  spot  proposed,  a  sad  discovery  lias  taken  place — the 
whole  scene  has  appeared  more  barren  than  the  valley 
I  had  quitted  ;  and  the  point  of  happiness,  which  I  lately 
imagined  it  possible  to  have  touched  with  my  finger,  has 
presented  itself  at  a  greater  distance  than  ever. 

"  If  hitherto,  my  dear  brother,  you  have  beguiled 
yourself  with  prospects  of  the  same  visionary  nature, 
never  expect  to  be  more  successful  in  your  future  pur- 
suits. One  labour  will  only  succeed  another,  making 
way  for  continual  discontent  and  chagrin.  Open  your 
heart,  and  there  you  will  discover  the  source  of  that  painful 
inquietude,  to  which,  by  your  own  confession,  you  have 
been  long  a  prey.  Examine  its  secret  recesses,  and  you 
will  discover  there  sufficient  proofs  of  the  following 
truths  :  The  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  des- 
perately wicked.  All  have  sinned  and  come  short  of  the 
glory  of  God.  The  thoughts  of  man' s  heart  are  only  evil, 
and  that  continually.  The  natural  man  v nderstandcth 
not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  On  the  discovery 
of  these  and  other  important  truths,  you  will  be  coa- 
vinced  that  man  is  an  apostate  being,  composed  of  a 
sensual,  rebellious  body,  and  a  soul  immersed  in  pride, 
self-love,  and  ignorance  :  nay,  more,  you  will  perceive 
it  a  physical  impossibility  that  man  should  ever  become 
truly  happy  till  he  is  cast,  as  it  were,  into  a  new  mould* 
and  created  a  second  time. 

"  For  my  own  part,  when  I  first  began  to  know  my- 
self, I  saw,  I  felt,  that  man  is  an  undefinable  animal, 
partly  of  a  bestial,  and  partly  of  an  infernal  nature. 
This  discovery  shocked  my  self-love,  and  filled  me  with 
the  utmost  horror.  I  endeavoured  for  some  time  to  throw 
a  palliating  disguise  over  the  wretchedness  of  my  condi- 
tion ;  but  the  impression  it  had  already  made  upon  my 
heart  was  too  deep  to  be  erased.  It  was  to  no  purpose 
that  I  reminded  myself  of  the  morality  of  my  conduct. 
It  was  in  vain  that  I  recollected  the  many  encomiums 
that  had  been  passed  upon  my  early  piety  and  virtue. 
And  it  was  to  little  avail,  that  I  sought  to  cast  a  mist 
before  my  eyes  by  reasonings  like  these — if  conversion 
implies  a  total  change,  who  has  been  converted  in  these 
days?  Why  dost  thou  imagine  thyself  worse  than  thou 


30 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


really  art?  Thou  art  a  believer  in  God  and  in  Christ: 
thou  art  a  Christian  :  thou  hast  injured  no  person  :  thou 
art  neither  a  drunkard  nor  an  adulterer  :  thou  hast  dis- 
charged thy  duties,  not  only  in  a  general  way,  but  with 
more  than  ordinary  exactness  :  thou  art  a  strict  at- 
tendant at  church  :  thou  art  accustomed  to  pray  more 
regularly  than  others,  and  frequently  with  a  good  degree 
of  fervour.  Make  thyself  perfectly  easy.  Moreover, 
Jesus  Christ  has  suffered  for  thy  sins,  and  his  merit  will 
supply  every  thing  that  is  lacking  on  thy  part. 

"  It  was  by  reasonings  of  this  nature  that  I  endea- 
voured to  conceal  from  myself  the  deplorable  state  of  my 
heart :  and  I  am  ashamed,  my  dear  brother  ;  I  repeat  it, 
I  am  ashamed  that  I  suffered  myself  so  long  to  be  delud- 
ed by  the  artifices  of  Satan,  and  the  devices  of  my  own 
heart.  God  himself  has  invited  me,  a  cloud  of  apostles, 
prophets,  and  martyrs,  have  exhorted  me,  and  my  con- 
science, animated  by  those  sparks  of  grace  which  are 
latent  in  every  breast,  has  urged  me  to  enter  in  at  the 
strait  gate,  but  notwithstanding  all  this,  a  subtle  tempter, 
a  deluding  world,  and  a  deceived  heart,  have  constantly 
turned  the  balance,  for  above  these  twenty  years,  in 
favour  of  the  broad  way.  I  have  passed  the  most  lovely 
part  of  my  life  in  the  service  of  these  tyrannical  mas- 
ters, and  am  ready  to  declare  in  the  face  of  the  universe 
that  all  my  reward  has  consisted  in  disquietude  and  re- 
morse. Happy  had  I  been  if  I  had  listened  to  the  earli- 
est invitations  of  grace,  and  broken  their  iron  yoke  from 
off  my  neck !" 

12.  From  this  time  his  hopes  and  fears,  his  desires 
and  pursuits,  were  totally  changed.  (Gilpin's  Notes.) 
From  the  heights  of  self-exaltation,  he  sunk  into  the 
depths  of  self-abhorrence  :  and  from  shining  in  the  fore- 
most ranks  of  the  virtuous,  he  placed  himself  on  a  level 
with  the  chief  of  sinners.  Convictions  made  way  for 
unfeigned  repentance,  and  repentance  laid  a  solid  foun- 
dation for  Christian  piety.  His  sorrow  for  sin  was 
succeeded  by  a  consciousness  of  the  Almighty's  favour, 
and  the  pangs  of  remorse  gave  way  to  the  joys  of  re- 
mission. Believing  on  Jesus,  as  the  Scripture  hath 
said,  he  found  in  him  a  well  of  consolation  springing 
up  into  everlasting  life.  All  his  wanderings  were  at 
once  happily  terminated,  his  doubts  were  removed, 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


31 


his  tears  were  dried  up,  and  he  began  to  rejoice  in  hope 
of  the  glory  of  God.  His  conversion  was  not  imagi- 
nary, but  real.  It  not  only  influenced  his  sentiments, 
but  extended  to  his  conduct.  Whom  he  had  found  a 
Saviour,  he  determined  to  follow  as  a  guide:  and  so 
unalterable  was  this  determination  that  from  the  very 
hour  in  which  it  was  formed,  it  is  not  known  that  he 
ever  cast  a  wishful  look  behind  him.  A  cloud  of  Wit- 
nesses arc  ready  to  testify  that  from  his  earliest  acquaint- 
ance with  the  truths  of  the  Gospel,  he  continued  to  walk 
worthy  of  his  high  vocation,  growing  in  grace,  and 
adorning  the  doctrine  of  God  our  Saviour  in  all  things. 

13.  From  this  period  of  his  life  he  became  truly  ex- 
emplary for  Christian  piety.  He  walked  cheerfully,  as 
well  as  valiant'y,  in  the  ways  of  God.  He  closely  fol- 
lowed his  Master,  denying  himself,  and  taking  up  his 
cross  daily.  And  thinking  he  had  not  leisure  in  the  day 
for  the  srreat  work  whicli  he  had  in  hand,  he  made  it  an 
invariable  rule  to  sit  up  two  whole  nights  in  a  week. 
These  lie  dedicated  to  reading,  meditation,  and  prayer, 
in  order  to  enter  more  deeply  into  that  communion  with 
the  Father  and  the  Son  which  was  his  delight.  Mean- 
time he  lived  entirely  on  vegetable  food,  and  for  some 
time  or  bread,  with  milk  and  water.  Indeed  one  reason 
of  his  doing  this  was,  that  being  threatened  with  a  con- 
sumption in  his  early  days,  he  had  been  advised  by  a 
physician  to  live  on  vegetables,  and  he  now  the  more 
readily  complied  with  the  advice,  because,  by  this  mean, 
he  avoided  dining  with  the  company  at  Mr.  Hill's  table. 
Mrs.  Fletcher  observes  that  beside  watching  the  two 
whole  nights  every  week  just  mentioned,  his  custom  was 
never  to  sleep  till  he  could  no  longer  keep  awake,  and 
that  therefore  he  always  took  a  candle  and  book  witli 
him  to  bed.  This  imprudence  had  once  almost  cost  him 
his  life,  if  the  calamity  had  stopped  there,  which  it  is 
probable  it  would  not.  For  one  night,  being  overcome 
with  sleep  before  he  put  out  his  candle,  he  dreamed  that 
his  curtain,  piHow,  and  cap,  were  all  on  fire,  but  went 
out  witbout  doing  him  any  harm.  And  truly  so  it  was. 
For  in  the  morning,  the  curtain,  pillow,  and  part  of  his 
cap,  as  also  of  the  hymn  book,  in  which  he  had  been  read- 
ing, were  found  burned.  The  hymn  book,  in  part  burned, 
Mrs.  Fletcher  has  in  h£r  possession  how.    Not  a  hair, 


32 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


however,  of  his  head  was  singed.  A  wonderful  proof 
this,  indeed,  of  God's  care  of  his  people,  and  that  his 
angel  encampeth  around  about  them  that  fear  him. 

"None  can  doubt,"  as  Mr.  Wesley  observes,  "whe- 
ther these  austerities  were  well  intended.  But  it  seems 
they  were  not  well  judged.  It  is  probable  they  gave  the 
first  wound  to  an  excellent  constitution,  and  laid  the 
foundation  of  many  infirmities,  which  nothing  but  death 
could  cure."  Indeed  he  seems  afterward  to  have  been 
fully  apprized  of  his  error  in  this  respect,  remarking 
once  to  Mrs.  Fletcher,  when  conversing  with  her  about 
mortification,  that  if  he  had  that  time  to  spend  again,  he 
would  not  act  in  the  same  manner  either  with  regard  to 
meat  or  sleep.  "I  have  sometimes  observed,"  added 
he,  "  that  when  the  body  is  brought  low,  Satan  gains 
an  advantage  over  the  soul.  It  is  certainly  our  duty  to 
take  all  the  care  we  can  of  our  health.  But,  at  that  time, 
I  did  not  seem  to  feel  the  want  of  the  sleep  I  deprived 
myself  of." 


CHAPTER  III. 

From  his  conversion  to  his  taking  orders,  and  entering  upon  the 
work  of  the  ministry. 

1.  It  was  not  long  after  he  had  himself  felt  the  -pow- 
ers of  the  world  to  come,  that  he  was  pressed  in  spirit 
to  exhort  others  to  seek  after  the  same  blessing.  And  he 
was  the  more  strongly  excited  to  this,  by  seeing  the  world 
all  around  him  lying  in  wickedness.  Being  deeply  sensi- 
ble of  the  goodness  of  God  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  the 
misery  of  mankind  on  the  other,  he  found  an  earnest 
longing 

"  Topluck  poor  brands  out  of  the  fire, 

To  snatch  them  from  the  verge  of  hell." 
This  he  began  to  do  a  considerable  time  before  he  was 
admitted  into  holy  orders.  And  even  his  first  labours 
of  love  were  far  from  being  in  vain.  For  though  he  was 
by  no  means  perfect  in  the  English  tongue,  particularly 
with  regard  to  the  pronunciation  of  it ;  yet  the  earnest- 
ness with  which  he  spoke,  (seldom  to  be  found  in  Eng- 
lish preachers,)  and  the  unspeakably  tender  affection  to 
the  poor,  undone  sinners,  who  breathed  in  every  word 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


33 


and  gesture,  drew  multitudes  of  people  to  hear  him  :  and 
by  the  blessing  of  God,  his  word  made  so  deep  an  impres- 
sion on  their  hearts,  that  very  few  went  empty  away. 

2.  From  this  time,  till  he  took  the  direct  care  of  souls, 
he  used  to  be  in  London  during  the  sitting  of  the  parlia- 
ment, and  the  rest  of  the  year  at  Tern-hall,  (as  it  was 
then  called,)  instructing  the  young  gentlemen.  Every 
Sunday,  when  in  the  country,  he  attended  the  parish 
church  at  Atcham.  But  when  the  service  was  ended, 
instead  of  going  home  in  the  coach,  which  was  always 
ready,  he  usually  took  a  solitary  walk  by  the  Severn 
side,  and  spent  some  time  in  meditation  and  prayer.  A 
pious  domestic  of  Mr.  Hill,  having  frequently  observed 
him,  one  Sunday  desired  leave  to  walk  with  him,  which 
he  constantly  did  from  that  time.  The  account  which 
he  (Mr.  Vaughan  lately  living  in  London)  gave  of  Mr. 
Fletcher,  when  Mr.  Wesley's  edition  of  his  life  was 
published,  is  as  follows  :  "  It  was  our  ordinary  custom, 
when  the  church  service  was  over,  to  retire  into  the 
most  lonely  fields  or  meadows,  where  we  frequently 
either  kneeled  down,  or  prostrated  ourselves  upon  the 
giound.  At  those  happy  seasons  I  was  a  witness  of  such 
pleadings  and  wrestlings  with  God,  such  exercises  of 
faith  and  love,  as  I  have  not  known  in  any  one  ever 
since.  The  consolations  which  we  then  received  from 
God,  induced  us  to  appoint  two  or  three  nights  in  the 
week,  when  we  duly  met,  after  his  pupils  were  asleep. 
We  met  also  constantly  on  Sundays,  between  four  and 
five  in  the  morning.  Sometimes  I  stepped  into  his 
study  on  other  days.  I  rarely  saw  any  book  before 
him,  beside  the  Bible  and  Christian  Pattern.  And  he 
was  seldom  in  any  other  company,  unless  when  neces- 
sary business  required,  beside  that  of  the  unworthy  wri- 
ter of  this  paper. 

3.  "  When  he  was  in  the  country,  he  used  to  visit  an 
officer  of  excise  at  Atcham  to  be  instructed  in  singing. 
On  my  desiring  him  to  give  me  some  account  of  what  he 
recollected  concerning  Mr.  Fletcher,  he  answered  thus: 
•  As  to  the  man  of  God,  Mr.  Fletchrr,  it  is  but  little  that 
I  remember  of  him;  it  being  above  nine  and  twenty  years 
since  the  last  time  I  saw  him.  But  this  I  well  remember, 
his  conversation  with  me  was  always  sweet  and  savoury. 
He  was  too  wise  to  suffer  any  of  his  precious  moments  to 


31 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J .  FLETCHER. 


be  trifled  away.  When  there  was  company  to  dine  at 
Mr.  Hill's,  he  frequently  retired  into  the  garden,  and 
contentedly  dine  on  a  piece  of  bread,  and  a  few  bunches 
of  currants.  Indeed,  in  his  whole  manner  of  living,  he 
was  a  pattern  of  abstemiousness.  Meantime,  how  great 
was  his  sweetness  of  temper  and  heavenly  mindedness  ! 
I  never  saw  it  equalled  in  any  one.  How  often,  when 
I  parted  with  him  at  Tern-hall,  have  his  eyes  and  hands 
been  lifted  up  to  heaven,  to  implore  a  blessing  upon  me, 
with  fervour  and  devoutness  unequalled  by  any  I  ever 
saw  !  I  firmly  believe  he  has  not  left  in  this  land,  or  per- 
haps in  any  other,  one  luminary  like  himself.  I  con- 
clude, wishing  this  light  may  be  so  held  up,  that  many 
may  see  the  glory  thereof,  and  be  transformed  into  its 
likeness.  May  you  and  I,  and  all  that  love  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  be  partakers  of  that  holiness  which  was 
so  conspicuous  in  him  !' 

4.  "  Our  interviews  for  singing  and  conversation,  (con- 
tinues Mr.  Vaughan,  who  was  often  present  on  these 
occasions,)  were  seldom  concluded  without  prayer ;  in 
which  we  were  frequently  joined  by  her  who  is  now  my 
wife,  (then  a  servant  in  the  family,)  as  likewise  by  a  poor 
widow  in  the  village,  who  had  also  known  the  power 
of  God  unto  salvation,  and  who  died  some  years  since, 
praising  God  with  her  latest  breath.  These  were  the 
only  persons  in  the  country  whom  he  chose  for  his  fami- 
liar friends.  But  he  sometimes  walked  over  to  Shrews- 
bury, to  see  Mrs.  Glynne,  or  Mr.  Appleton  ;  (who  like- 
wise now  rests  from  his  labours,  after  having  many 
years  adorned  the  Gospel.)  He  also  visited  any  of  the 
poor  in  the  neighbourhood  that  were  upon  sick  beds  ; 
and  when  no  other  person  could  be  procured,  performed 
even  the  meanest  offices  for  them." 

5.  About  this  time  his  father  died,  as  appears  by  the 
following  letter,  addressed  to  Mr.  Richard  Edwards  of 
London,  to  whose  care,  as  a  leader,  he  was  committed, 
when  he  was  first  received  into  the  Methodist  society  in 
London.    It  is  dated  Tern,  October  19,  1756. 

"Dearest  Brother, — This  is  to  let  you  know  that 
(praised  be  the  Lord)  I  am  very  well  in  body,  and  pretty 
well  in  soul : — but  I  have  very  few  friends  here,  and 
God  has  been  pleased  to  take  away  the  chief  of  those 
few  by  a  most  comfortable  death.    And  lately  I  heard 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


thai  my  aged  father  is  gone  the  way  of  all  flesh  :  but 
the  glorious  circumstances  of  his  death  make  me  ample 
amends  for  the  sorrow  which  I  felt  For  some  years  I 
have  written  to  him  with  as  much  freedom  as  I  could 
have  done  to  a  son,  though  not  with  so  much  effect  as  I 
wished.  But  last  spring  God  visited  him  with  a  severe 
illness,  which  brought  him  to  a  sense  of  himself.  And 
after  a  deep  repentance,  he  died  about  a  month  ago  in 
the  full  assurance  of  faith.  This  has  put  several  of  my 
friends  on  thinking  seriously,  which  affords  me  great 
cause  of  thankfulness.  I  am  your  unworthy  brother 
and  servant  in  the  Lord,  John  Fletcher." 

G.  During  the  early  part  of  his  residence  in  England, 
it  is  uncertain  whether  he  entertained  any  thoughts  of 
entering  into  holy  orders,  though  he  diligently  prose- 
cuted those  studies  which  are  generally  regarded  as  pre- 
paratory to  such  a  step.  It  is  most  probable  that  he 
had  formed  no  design  of  this  nature,  till  this,  the  second 
year  of  his  continuance  at  Tern-hall,  in  Shropshire  ; 
when  he  became  acquainted  with  the  power  of  true  reli- 
-gion,  and  experienced  that  important  change  of  heart 
which  has  been  before  described.  Receiving  at  that 
time  an  inestimable  talent  from  the  hand  of  God,  he  re- 
solved, like  a  wise  and  faithful  servant,  to  neglect  no- 
thing that  might  conduce  to  the  due  improvement  of  it ; 
and  from  that  period  it  became  his  grand  inquiry,  What 
shall  I  render  unto  the.  Lord  for  all  the  benefits  that  he 
hath  done  unto  me  ?  No  service  appeared  too  laborious 
to  be  undertaken,  nor  any  sacrifice  too  valuable  to  be 
offered  in  return  for  the  signal  favours  conferred  upon 
him. 

7.  But  what  service  could  he  render,  or  what  sacrifice 
could  he  offer,  that  might  be  acceptable  to  the  God  who 
had  done  so  great  things  for  him  ?  The  holy  ministry, 
indeed,  appeared  to  open  before  him  a  passage  to  the 
most  important  labours  ;  and  an  entire  consecration  of 
his  united  powers  to  this  momentous  work  he  consi- 
dered as  the  richest  oblation  he  could  make  to  the  Fa- 
ther of  mercies.  But  a  variety  of  fears  respecting  his 
own  unwo-rthmess,  prevented  him  from  immediately 
offering  this  sacrifice,  or  hastily  entering  upon  this  work. 
He  trembled  at  the  idea  of  running  before  he  was  sent, 
and  dreaded  engaging  in  a  warfare  at  his  own  cost.  He 


36 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


believed  himself  unfurnished  for  the  duties  of  the  office 
to  which  he  aspired.  And  though  he  considered  the 
inclination  of  his  heart  as  an  internal  call  to  the  service 
of  the  Church,  yet  he  judged  it  necessary  to  tarry  till 
that  call  should  be  confirmed,  if  not  by  some  providen- 
tial opening,  at  least  by  the  approbation  of  his  Christian 
friends. 

8.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Wesley  was  one  whom,  among 
others,  he  consulted  on  this  occasion.  To  him  he  now 
addressed  the  following  letter  : — 

"  Tern,  Nov.  24,  1756. 

"  Rev.  Sir, — As  I  look  upon  you  as  my  spiritual 
guide,  and  cannot  doubt  of  your  patience  to  hear,  and 
your  experience  to  answer  a  question  proposed  by  one 
of  your  people,  I  freely  lay  my  case  before  you.  Since 
I  came  to  England  I  have  been  called  outwardly  three 
times  to  go  into  orders  ;  but  upon  praying  to  God  that 
if  those  calls  were  not  from  him,  they  might  come  to 
nothing,  something  always  blasted  the  designs  of  my 
friends  ;  and  in  this  I  have  often  admired  the  goodness 
of  God,  who  prevented  my  rushing  into  that  important 
employment  as  the  horse  into  the  battle.  I  never  was 
so  thankful  for  this  favour  as  I  have  been  since  I  heard 
the  Gospel  in  its  purity.  Before  I  was  afraid,  but  now  I 
trembled  to  meddle  with  holy  things  ;  and  resolved  to 
work  out  my  salvation  privately,  without  engaging  in  a 
way  of  life  which  required  so  much  more  grace  and 
gifts  than  I  was  conscious  I  possessed.  Yet  from  time 
to  time  I  felt  warm  and  strong  desires  to  cast  myself 
and  my  ability  on  the  Lord,  if  I  should  be  called  any 
more,  knowing  that  he  could  help  me,  and  show  his 
strength  in  my  weakness  :  and  these  desires  were  in- 
creased by  some  little  success  which  attended  my  ex- 
hortations and  letters  to  my  friends. 

"  I  think  it  necessary  to  let  you  know,  sir,  that  my 
patron  often  desired  me  to  take  orders,  and  said  he  would 
soon  help  me  to  a  living  ;  to  which  I  coldly  answered,  I 
was  not  fit,  and  that,  besides,  I  did  not  know  how  to  get  a 
title.  Things  were  in  that  state  when,  about  six  weeks 
ago,  a  gentleman  whom  I  hardly  knew  offered  me  a 
living,  which,  in  all  probability,  will  be  vacant  soon  ; 
and  a  clergyman  I  never  spoke  to  gave  me,  of  his  own 
accord,  the  title  of  curate  to  one  of  his  livings.  Now, 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


sir,  the  question  which  I  beg  you  to  decide  is,  Whether 
I  must  and  can  make  use  of  that  title  to  get  into 
orders?  For  with  respect  to  the  living,  were  it  vacant, 
I  have  no  mind  to  it ;  because  I  think  I  could  preach 
with  more  fruit  in  my  native  country,  and  in  my  own 
tongue. 

"  I  am  in  suspense  :  on  one  side  my  heart  tells  me  I 
must  try,  and  tells  me  so  whenever  I  feel  any  degree  of 
the  love  of  God  and  man  ;  on  the  other,  when  I  examine 
whether  I  am  tit  for  it  I  so  plainly  see  my  want  of  gifts, 
and  especially  of  that  soul  of  all  the  labours  of  a  minis- 
ter, love,  continual,  universal,  flaming  love,  that  my 
confidence  disappears  :  I  accuse  myself  of  pride  to  dare 
to  entertain  the  desire  of  supporting  one  day  the  ark  of 
God,  and  conclude  that  an  extraordinary  punishment 
will,  sooner  or  later,  overtake  my  rashness.  As  I  am 
in  both  of  these  frames  successively,  I  must  own,  sir,  I 
do  not  see  which  of  these  two  ways  before  me  I  can  take 
with  safety ;  and  shall  gladly  be  ruled  by  you  ;  because 
I  trust  God  will  direct  you  in  giving  me  the  advice  you 
think  will  best  conduce  to  his  glory,  which  is  the  only 
thing  I  would  have  in  view  in  this  afTair.  I  know  how 
precious  your  time  is,  and  desire  no  long  answer. — 
Persist,  or  forbear,  will  satisfy  and  influence,  Rev.  sir, 
your  unworthy  servant,  J.  F." 

9.  We  are  not  informed  what  answer  Mr.  Wesley  re- 
turned to  this  letter.  We  can  have  no  doubt,  however, 
but  that  he  encouraged  him  to  proceed  in  his  design; 
and  that  Mr.  Gilpin  is  perfectly  right  when  he  observes 
that  "  a  discovery  of  his  sentiments  was  no  sooner  made, 
but  many  honourable  elders  in  the  household  of  God, 
who  had  discernment  enough  to  distinguish  the  grace 
that  was  in  him,  and  how  admirably  he  was  fitted  for  the 
work  of  an  evangelist,  rejoiced  over  him  as  a  faithful 
labourer  already  hired  into  the  vineyard  of  Christ.  They 
not  only  ratified  his  internal  call  to  the  holy  ministry 
by  their  unanimous  approbation,  but  earnestly  solicited 
him  to  obey  that  call  without  any  farther  delay.  Mean- 
while the  word  of  the  Lord  was  as  fire  in  his  bones,  ever 
struggling  for  vent,  and  not  unfrequently  breaking  forth, 
as  occasion  offered,  in  public  reproof,  exhortation,  and 
prayer. 

10.  "  In  this  state  he  continued  for  about  the  space 


38 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


of  two  years,  not  only  determined  what  course  he  should 
pursue,  but  patiently  waiting  to  hear  what  the  Lord  God 
would  say  concerning  him.  And  during  this  season  he 
was  much  occupied  in  making  a  diligent  preparation  for 
the  service  of  the  altar,  that,  if  ever  he  should  be  called 
to  so  honourable  an  employment,  he  might  go  forth 
thoroughly  furnished  to  every  good  work.  The  chief 
objects  of  his  pursuit  were  sacred  knowledge  and  Chris- 
tian purity ;  in  both  of  which  he  made  an  uncommon 
proficiency,  surpassing  many  who  had  studied  for  that 
knowledge,  and  struggled  for  that  purity,  through  the 
greater  part  of  their  life.  By  his  private  exercises  he 
was  fitted  for  public  labours,  and  by  the  holy  discipline 
to  which  he  submitted  himself,  without  any  reserve,  he 
was  trained  to  spiritual  eminence  in  the  school  of  Christ. 
To  those  who  perfectly  knew  him  in  this  state  of  retire- 
ment he  appeared  as  a  polished  shaft,  hid  indeed  for  a 
season  in  the  quiver  of  his  Lord,  yet  ready  for  immediate 
service,  and  prepared  to  fly  in  any  appointed  direction. 

11.  "He  was  not  without  promises  of  preferment  in 
the  Church  :  but  these  served  rather  to  retard  than  to 
hasten  his  entrance  into  it.  Having  a  sacrifice  to  per- 
form, and  not  a  fortune  to  secure,  he  was  fearful  lest  his 
intention  should  be  debased  by  views  of  an  interested 
nature.  At  length,  his  humble  reluctance  was  overcome, 
and,  after  the  most  mature  deliberation,  he  solemnly 
determined  to  offer  himself  a  candidate  for  holy  orders. 
And  to  this  solemn  determination  he  was  urged  by  the 
increasing  force  of  two  powerful  motives,  gratitude  and 
benevolence  ;  gratitude  to  God  impelled  him  to  declare 
the  name  of  his  great  Benefactor,  and  bear  public  testi- 
mony to  the  word  of  his  grace  ;  while  benevolence  to- 
ward his  fellow  creatures  incited  him  to  spend  and  be 
spent  in  promoting  their  best  interests.  Constrained  by 
these  sacred  motives,  he  publicly  dedicated  himself  to 
the  work  of  the  holy  ministry  in  the  year  1757,  when  he 
received  deacon's  orders  on  Sunday,  March  6th,  and 
priest's  orders  on  the  following  Sunday,  from  the  hands 
of  the  bishop  of  Bangor,  in  the  chapel  royal  at  St. 
James'. 

12.  "  The  same  day  that  he  was  ordained  a  priest," 
says  Mr.  Wesley,  "  being  informed  that  I  had  no  one  to 
assist  me  at  West-street  chapel,  he  came  away  as  soon 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


39 


as  ever  the  ordination  was  over,  and  assisted  me  in  the 
administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  He  was  now 
doubly  diligent  in  preaching,  not  only  in  the  chapels  at 
West-street  and  Spitalfields,  but  wherever  the  provi- 
dence of  God  opened  a  door  to  proclaim  the  everlasting 
Gospel.  This  he  frequently  did,  not  only  in  English, 
but  likewise  in  French,  his  native  language  :  of  which 
he  was  allowed  by  all  competent  judges  to  be  a  complete 
master." 

13.  The  following  letter,  written  to  Mr.  Wesley  soon 
after  his  taking  orders,  manifests  what  a  mean  opinion 
he  then  had  of  himself  both  with  respect  to  his  grace 
and  gifts.    It  is  dated  London,  May  26,  1757. 

"  Rev.  Sir, — If  I  did  not  write  to  you  before  Mrs. 
Wesley  had  asked  me,  it  was  not  that  I  wanted  a  re- 
memrancer  within,  but  rather  an  encourager  without. 
There  is  generally  upon  my  heart  such  a  sense  of  my 
unworthiness,  that  I  sometimes  dare  hardly  open  my 
mouth  before  a  child  of  God  ;  and  think  it  an  unspeak- 
able honour  to  stand  before  one  who  has  recovered 
something  of  the  image  of  God,  or  sincerely  seeks  after 
it.  Is  it  possible  that  such  a  sinful  worm  as  I  should 
have  the  privilege  to  converse  with  one  whose  soul  is 
sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  my  Lord  !  The  thought 
amazes,  confounds  me,  and  fills  my  eyes  with  tears  of 
humble  joy.  Judge,  then,  at  what  distance  I  must  see 
myself  from  you,  if  I  am  so  much  below  the  least  of 
your  children  :  and  whether  a  remembrancer  within  suf- 
fices to  make  me  presunv;  to  write  to  you,  whose  shoes 
I  am  not  worthy  to  bear. 

"  I  rejoice  that  you  find  everywhere  an  increase  of 
prayiag  souls.  I  doubt  not  but  the  prayer  of  the  right- 
eous hath  great  power  with  God  ;  and  cannot  but  be- 
lieve that  it  must  tend  to  promote  the  fulfilling  of  Christ's 
gracious  promises  to  his  Church.  He  must,  and  cer- 
tainly will  come  at  the  time  appointed  ;  for  he  is  not 
slack,  as  some  men  count  slackness  ;  and  although  he 
would  have  all  to  come  to  repentance,  yet  he  has  not 
forgot  to  be  true  and  just.  Only  he  will  come  with 
more  mercy,  and  will  increase  the  light  that  shall  be  at 
evening  tide,  according  to  his  promise  in  Zech.  xiv,  7. 
I  should  rather  think  that  the  visions  are  not  yet  plainly 
disclosed  ;  and  that  the  day  an  1  year,  in  which  the  Lord 


40 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


will  begin  to  make  bare  his  arm  openly,  are  still  con- 
cealed from  us. 

"  I  must  say  of  Mr.  Walsh,  as  he  once  said  to  me  con- 
cerning God,  '  I  wish  I  could  attend  him  everywhere, 
as  Elisha  did  Elijah.'  But  since  the  will  of  God  calls 
me  from  him  I  must  submit,  and  drink  the  cup  prepared 
for  me.  I  have  not  seen  him  unless  for  a  few  moments, 
three  or  four  times  before  Divine  service.  We  must 
meet  at  the  throne  of  grace,  or  meet  but  seldom.  O, 
when  will  the  communion  of  saints  be  complete  !  Lord, 
hasten  the  time,  and  let  me  have  a  place  among  them 
that  love  thee,  and  love  one  another  in  sincerity. 

"  I  set  out  in  two  days  for  the  country.  O,  may  I  be 
faithful !  harmless  like  a  dove,  wise  like  a  serpent,  and 
bold  as  a  lion  for  the  common  cause  !  O,  Lord,  do  not 
forsake  me  !  Stand  by  the  weakest  of  thy  servants,  and 
enable  thy  children  to  bear  with  me,  and  wrestle  with 
thee  in  my  behalf.  O  bear  with  me,  dear  sir,  and  give 
me  your  blessing  every  day,  and  the  Lord  will  return  it 
to  you  sevenfold.  I  am,  Rev.  and  dear  sir,  your  un- 
worthy servant,  J.  F." 

14.  In  less  than  three  weeks,  it  seems,  from  the  time 
of  his  going  into  the  country,  he  had  an  opportunity  of 
preaching.  This,  according  to  Mr.  Vaughan,  quoted  by 
Mr.  Wesley,  was  on  the  19th  of  June  following.  "His 
text  was  James  iv,  4,  (a  very  bold  beginning  !)  Ye  adul- 
terers and  adulteresses,  know  ye  not  that  the  friendship 
of  the  world  is  enmity  against  God?  The  congregation 
stood  amazed,  and  gazed  upon  him  as  if  he  had  been  a 
monster.  ,  But  to  me  he  appeared  as  a  messenger  sent 
from  heaven." 

"It  was  not  soon,"  proceeds  Mr.  V.,  "  that  he  was 
invited  again  to  preach  in  Atcham  church.  But  he  was 
invited  to  preach  in  several  other  churches  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood ;  as  at  Wroxeter,  and  afterward  at  the  Abbey 
church  in  Shrewsbury,  having  preached  twice  before  in 
St.  AlkmoncTs  in  that  town.  But  not  being  yet  perfect 
in  the  English  tongue,  he  wrote  down  all  the  sermons  he 
delivered  in  churches.  But  I  doubt  whether  he  preached 
above  six  times  in  the  six  months  which  he  spent  in  the 
country.  On  my  telling  him  I  wished  he  had  more  op- 
portunities of  preaching  in  this  unenlightened  part  of  the 
land,  he  answered,  '  The  will  of  God  be  done :  I  am  in 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


41 


his  hands.  And  if  he  do  not  call  me  to  so  much  public, 
duty,  I  have  the  more  time  for  study,  prayer,  and 
praise.'  " 

15.  On  this  subject  he  signified  his  mind  in  the  follow- 
ing letter,  written  at  this  time  to  his  friend  Mr.  Edwards, 
before  mentioned: — 

"I  thank  you  for  your  encouraging  observations  ;  I 
want  them,  and  use  them  by  the  grace  of  God.  When  I 
received  yours  I  had  not  had  one  opportunity  of  preach- 
ing: so  incensed  were  all  the  clergy  against  me.  One, 
however,  let  me  have  the  use  of  his  church,  the  Abbey 
church  at  Shrewsbury.  I  preached  in  the  forenoon  with 
some  degree  of  the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit.  The 
congregation  was  very  numerous :  and  I  believe  one-half, 
at  least,  desired  to  hear  me  again.  But  the  minister 
would  not  let  me  have  the  pulpit  any  more.  The  next 
Sunday,  the  minister  of  a  neighbouring  parish  lying  a 
dying,  I  was  sent  for  to  officiate  for  him.  He  died  a  few 
days  after,  and  the  chief  man  in  the  parish  offered  to 
make  interest  that  I  might  succeed  him.  But  I  could 
not  consent.  The  next  Sunday  I  preached  at  Shrews- 
bury again,  but  in  another  church.  The  next  day  I  set 
out  for  Bristol,  and  was  much  refreshed  among  the 
brethren.  As  I  returned,  I  called  at  New-Kingswood, 
about  sixteen  miles  from  Bristol.  The  minister  offering 
me  his  church,  I  preached  to  a  numerous  congregation, 
gathered  on  half  an  hour's  notice.  I  think  the  seed 
then  sown  will  not  be  lost." 

16.  In  the  spring  of  this  year  (1758)  we  find  him  in 
London,  from  whence  he  wrote  as  follows  to  Mrs. 
Glynne,  of  Shrewsbury,  the  pious  lady  of  his  acquaint- 
ance before  mentioned.  His  letter  is  dated  April  18,  and 
is  here  inserted  to  show  the  state  of  his  mind  at  this  time. 

"  Madam, — As  it  is  never  too  late  to  do  what  multi- 
plicity of  business,  rather  than  forgetfulness,  has  forced 
us  to  defer,  I  am  not  ashamed,  though  after  some  months, 
to  use  the  liberty  you  gave  me,  to  inquire  after  the  wel- 
fare of  your  soul  ;  and  that  so  much  the  more,  as  I  am 
conscious  I  have  not  forgotten  you  at  the  throne  of 
grace.  O  may  my  petitions  have  reached  heaven,  and 
forced  from  thence,  at  least,  some  drops  of  those  spirit- 
ual showers  of  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  I  implore  for  you. 


42 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


"Though  J  trust  the  unction  from  above  teaches  you 
all  things  needful  to  salvation,  and  especially  the  neces- 
sity of  continuing  instant  in  prayer,  and  watching  there- 
unto with  all  perseverance  ;  yet  I  think  it  my  duty  to 
endeavour  to  add  wings  to  your  desires  after  holiness,  by 
enforcing  them  with  mine.  O  were  I  but  clothed  with 
all  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  my  prayers  would  avail 
much  ;  and  the  lukewarmness  of  my  brethren  would 
not  increase  my  guilt,  as  being  myself  an  instance  of 
that  coldness  of  love  which  puts  me  upon  interceding 
for  them. 

"  Though  I  speak  of  lukewarmness,  I  do  not  accuse 
you,  madam,  of  having  given  way  to  it ;  on  the  contrary, 
it  is  my  duty,  and  the  joy  of  my  heart,  to  hope  that  you 
stir  up  more  and  more  the  gift  of  God  which  is  in  you ; 
that  the  evidences  of  your  interest  in  a  bleeding  Lord 
become  clearer  every  day  ;  that  the  love  of  Christ  con- 
strain you  more  and  more  to  deny  yourself,  take  up 
your  cross  in  all  things,  and  follow  him  patiently,  through 
bad  and  good  report :  in  a  word,  that  continually  leaving 
the  things  which  are  behind,  you  stretch  forward, 
through  sunshine  or  darkness,  toward  the  prize  of  your 
high  calling  in  Jesus  Christ, — T  mean  a  heart  emptied 
of  pride,  and  filled  with  all  the  fulness  of  God. 

"I  have  often  thought  of  you,  madam,  in  reading  the 
ktters  of  a  lady,  (Mrs.  Lcfcvrc,)  who  was  a  Christian, 
and  an  eminent  Christian,  not  to  say  one  of  the  bright- 
est lights  that  God  has  raised  since  the  late  revival  of 
godliness.  The  reproach  of  Christ  was  her  crown  of 
rejoicing,  his  cross  her  continual  support,  his  followers 
her  nearest  companions,  his  example  the  pattern  of  her 
conversation.  She  lived  a  saint,  and  died  an  angel. 
Each  one  of  her  letters  may  be  a  pattern  for  Christian 
correspondents,  by  the  simplicity,  edification,  and  love 
they  breathe  in  every  line.  O  when  shall  I  write  as 
she  did?  When  my  heart  shall  be  as  full  of  God  as  hers 
was. 

"  May  the  Lord  enable  you  to  walk  in  her  steps,  and 
grant  me  to  see  you  shining  among  the  humble,  loving 
Marys  of  this  age  as  she  did  but  a  few  months  ago. 
Her  God  is  our  God  :  the  same  Spirit  that  animated  her 
is  waiting  at  the  door  of  our  hearts,  to  cleanse  them  and 
fill  them  with  his  consolations,  if  we  will  but  exclude 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


43 


the  world,  and  let  him  in.  Why  should  we  then  give 
way  to  despondency,  and  refuse  to  cherish  that  lively 
hope  ichick  if  any  one  has,  he  icill  purify  himself  even 
as  God  is  pure  ?  Take  courage  then,  madam,  and  con- 
sider that  the  hour  of  self-denial  and  painful  wrestling 
with  God  will  be  short,  and  the  time  of  victorious  re- 
compense as  long  as  eternity  itself.  May  the  Lord 
enable  you  and  me  to  consider  this  well,  and  to  act  ac- 
cordingly. 

"I  conclude,  by  commending  you  to  the  Lord,  and 
to  the  word  of  his  grace,  and  recommending  myself  to 
your  prayers.  I  am,  madam,  your  obedient  servant  for 
Christ's  sake.  J.  F." 

17.  This  year  there  were  many  French  prisoners  on 
their  parole,  at  Tunbridge.  Mr.  Fletcher  being  desired 
to  preach  to  them  in  their  own  language,  he  readily 
complied.  Many  of  them  appeared  to  be  deeply  affect- 
ed, and  earnestly  requested  that  he  would  preach  to  them 
every  Lord's  day.  But  some  advised  them  first  to  pre- 
sent a  petition  to  the  bishop  of  London  for  leave.  They 
did  so,  and  (who  would  believe  it?)  the  good  bishop  pe- 
remptorily rejected  their  petition !  An  odd  incident  fol- 
lowed. A  few  months  after,  the  bishop  died  of  a  cancer 
in  his  mouth.  "  Perhaps,"  says  Mr.  Wesley,  "  some 
may  think  this  was  a  just  retribution  for  silencing  such 
a  prophet  on  such  an  occasion  !  I  am  not  ashamed  to 
acknowledge  this  is  my  own  sentiment ;  and  I  do  not 
think  it  any  breach  of  charity  to  suppose  that  an  action 
so  unworthy  of  a  Christian  bishop  had  its  punishment 
in  this  world." 

When  he  returned  from  London,  in  the  same  year,  he 
was  more  frequently  invited  to  preach  in  several  of  the 
neighbouring  churches.  And  before  his  quitting  the 
country,  he  gave  his  friend  a  few  printed  papers  to  dis- 
tribute, entitled,  "  A  Christmas  Box  for  Journeymen  and 
Apprentices."  This  is  mentioned  the  rather,  because  it 
is  supposed  it  was  the  first  thing  which  he  ever  published. 

18.  In  the  spring  of  the  next  year  he  was  again  in 
London,  and  in  the  same  humble  and  self-diffident  state 
of  mind,  as  appears  by  the  following  short  extracts  from 
three  of  his  letters  to  the  Rev.  Charles  Wesley.  The 
first  is  dated  March  22,  1759: — 

"  My  Dear  Sir, — You  left  me  without  permitting  me 


44 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


to  say,  farewell ;  but  that  shall  not  hinder  me  from  wish- 
ing you  a  good  journey,  and  I  flatter  myself  that  you  are 
in  the  habit  of  returning  my  prayers. 

"  Since  your  departure  I  have  lived  more  than  ever 
like  a  hermit.  It  seems  to  me  that  I  am  an  unprofitable 
weight  upon  the  earth.  I  want  to  hide  myself  from  all. 
I  tremble  when  the  Lord  favours  me  with  a  sight  of  my- 
self;  I  tremble  to  think  of  preaching  only  to  dishonour 
God.  To-morrow  I  preach  at  West-street  with  all  the 
feelings  of  Jonah  :  O  would  to  God  I  might  be  attended 
with  success !  If  the  Lord  shall,  in  any  degree,  sustain 
my  weakness,  I  shall  consider  myself  as  indebted  to  your 
prayers. 

"  A  proposal  has  lately  been  made  to  me,  to  accom- 
pany Mr.  Nathaniel  Gilbert  to  the  West  Indies.  I  have 
weighed  the  matter ;  but  on  one  hand  I  feel  that  I  have 
neither  sufficient  zeal,  nor  grace,  nor  talents,  to  expose 
myself  to  the  temptations  and  labours  of  a  mission  in 
the  West  Indies  ;  and  on  the  other,  I  believe  that  if  God 
call  me  thither,  the  time  has  not  yet  come.  I  wish  to 
be  certain  that  I  am  converted  myself,  before  I  leave  my 
converted  brethren  to  convert  heathens.  Pray  let  me 
know  what  you  think  of  this  business;  if  you  condemn 
me  to  put  the  sea  between  us,  the  command  would  be  a 
hard  one  ;  but  I  might,  possibly,  prevail  on  myself  to 
give  you  that  proof  of  the  deference  I  pay  to  your  judi- 
cious advice. 

"  I  have  taken  possession  of  my  little  hired  chamber. 
There  I  have  outward  peace,  and  I  wait  for  that  which 
is  within.  I  was  this  morning  with  Lady  Huntingdon, 
who  salutes  you,  and  unites  with  me  to  say  that  we  have 
need  of  you  to  make  one  in  our  threefold  cord,  and  to 
beg  you  will  hasten  your  return,  when  Providence  per- 
mits. Our  conversation  was  deep,  and  full  of  the  energy 
of  faith  on  the  part  of  the  countess  ;  as  to  me,  I  sat  like 
Saul  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel.  J.  Fletcher." 

The  second  was  written  in  April  following,  and  in  this 
his  words  are,  "With  a  heart  bowed  down  with  grief, 
and  eyes  bathed  with  tears,  occasioned  by  our  late  heavy 
loss,  I  mean  the  death  of  Mr.  Walsh,  I  take  my  pen  to 
pray  you  to  intercede  for  me.  Whatl  that  sincere,  Za- 
borious,  and  zealous  servant  of  God !  Was  he  saved 
only  as  by  fire,  and  was  not  his  prayer  heard  till  the 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


twelfth  hour  was  just  expiring  ?  O,  where  shall  I  ap- 
pear, 1  who  am  an  unprofitable  servant !  Would  to  God 
my  eyes  were  fountains  of  water  to  weep  for  my  sins  ! 
Would  to  God  I  might  pass  the  rest  of  my  days  in  cry- 
ing, Lord,  have  mercy  upon  me  !  All  is  vanity — grace, 
talents,  labours,  if  we  compare  them  with  the  mighty 
stride  wo  have  to  take  from  time  into  eternity  !  Lord, 
remember  me  now  thou  art  in  thy  kingdom ! 

"I  have  preached  and  administered  the  sacrament  at 
West-street  sometimes  in  the  holidays.  May  God  water 
the  poor  seed  I  have  sown,  and  give  it  fruitfuhiess, 
though  it  be  only  in  one  soul  ! 

"  I  have  lately  seen  so  much  weakness  in  my  heart, 
both  as  a  minister  and  a  Christian,  that  I  know  not  which 
is  most  to  be  pitied,  the  man,  the  believer,  or  the 
preacher.  Could  I  at  last  be  truly  humbled,  and  con- 
tinue so  always,  I  should  esteem  myself  happy  in  making 
this  discovery.  I  preach  merely  to  keep  the  chapel  open, 
until  God  shall  send  a  workman  after  his  own  heart. 
Nos  numeri  sumus  ;  (I  fill  an  empty  space  ;)  this  is  al- 
most all  I  can  say  of  myself.  If  I  did  not  know  myself 
a  little  better  than  I  did  formerly,  I  should  tell  you  that 
I  had  ceased  altogether  from  placing  any  confidence  in 
my  repentances,  &c,  &c,  but  I  see  my  heart  is  so  full 
of  deceit,  that  I  cannot  depend  on  my  knowledge  of 
myself. 

"  The  day  Mr.  Walsh  died,  the  Lord  gave  our  brethren 
the  spirit  of  prayer  and  supplication  ;  and  many  unutter- 
able groans  were  ofTered  up  for  him  at  Spitalfields,  where 
I  was.  Who  shall  render  us  the  same  kind  office  ?  Ia 
not  our  hour  near?  O,  my  God,  when  thou  comest,  pre- 
pare us,  and  we  shall  be  ready !  You  owe  your  children 
an  elegy  upon  his  death,  and  you  cannot  employ  your 
poetic  talents  on  a  better  subject.  J.  F." 

June  1st,  he  writes,  "  The  Lord  gives  me  health  of 
body,  and  from  time  to  time  I  feel  strength  in  my  souL 
O,  when  shall  the  witness  (meaning  himself)  who  is  dead, 
arise!  When  shall  the  Spirit  enter  into  him,  and  fill  him 
with  wisdom,  with  power,  and  with  love!  Pray  for  me, 
and  support  my  weakness  as  much  as  you  can.  I  am 
here  umbra  pro  corpore.  (A  shadow  rather  than  a  sub- 
stance.) I  preach  as  your  substitute  :  come  and  fill 
worthily  an  office  of  which  I  am  unworthy.    My  pupils 


46 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


return  to  Cambridge  on  Monday,  and  the  whole  family 
sets  out  for  Shropshire  on  the  11th.  Shall  I  not  see  you 
before  that  time  ?  I  have  rejected  the  offer  of  Dr.  Tay- 
lor, and  have  no  other  temptations  than  those  of  a  bad 
heart.  That  is  enough,  you  will  say ;  I  grant  it ;  but 
we  must  fight  before  we  conquer.  Pray  that  my  cou- 
rage may  not  fail.  Come,  and  the  Lord  come  with  you  ! 
I  am,  &,c,  J.  F." 

19.  Having  returned  from  London  to  Tern-hall,  and 
being  now  less  frequently  called  to  public  duty,  he  en- 
joyed his  beloved  retirement,  giving  himself  up  to  study, 
meditation,  and  prayer,  and  walking  closely  with  God. 
Indeed,  his  whole  life  was  now  a  life  of  prayer  ;  and  so 
intensely  was  his  mind  fixed  upon  God,  that  he  some- 
times said,  "  I  would  not  move  from  my  seat  without 
lifting  up  my  heart  to  God."  "  Wherever  we  met,"  says 
Mr.  Vaughan,  "  if  we  were  alone,  his  first  salute  was, 
'  Do  I  meet  you  praying?'  And  if  we  were  talking  on 
any  point  of  divinity,  when  we  were  in  the  depth  of  our 
discourse  he  would  often  break  off  abruptly,  and  ask, 
'Where  are  our  hearts  now?'  If  ever  the  misconduct 
of  an  absent  person  was  mentioned,  his  usual  reply  was, 
1  Let  us  pray  for  him.'  " 

20.  It  appears,  however,  that  he  was  not  without  pain- 
ful temptations  of  a  spiritual  nature,  in  this  state  of  re- 
tirement. In  a  letter  to  the  Rev.  Charles  Wesley,  dated 
July  19th,  of  the  same  year,  he  observes,  "  Instead  of 
apologizing  for  my  silence,  I  will  simply  relate  the  cause 
of  it,  referring  you  to  the  remembrance  of  your  own 
temptations  for  that  patience  you  must  exercise  toward 
a  weak,  tempted  soul.  This  is  the  fourth  summer  that 
I  have  been  brought  thither,  in  a  peculiar  manner,  to  be 
tempted  of  the  devil  in  a  wilderness  :  and  I  have  im- 
proved so  little  by  my  past  exercises  that  I  have  not 
defended  myself  better  than  in  the  first  year.  Being 
arrived  here,  I  began  to  spend  my  time  as  I  had  deter- 
mined, one  part  in  prayer,  and  the  other  in  meditation 
on  the  Holy  Scriptures.  The  Lord  blessed  my  devo- 
tions, and  I  advanced  from  conquering  to  conquer,  lead- 
ing every  thought  captive  to  the  obedience  of  Jesus 
Christ ;  when  it  pleased  God  to  show  me  some  of  the 
folds  of  my  heart.  As  I  looked  for  nothing  less  than 
6uch  a  discovery,  I  was  extremely  surprised ;  so  much 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


17 


so  as  to  forget  Christ :  you  may  judge  already  what  was 
the  consequence.  A  spiritual  languor  seized  on  all  the 
powers  of  my  soul  ;  and  I  suffered  myself  to  he  carried 
away  by  a  current,  with  a  rapidity  of  which  I  was  unac- 
quainted. 

"  Neither  doubt  nor  despair  troubled  me  for  a  mo- 
ment :  my  temptation  took  another  course.  It  appeared 
to  me  that  God  would  be  much  more  glorified  by  my 
damnation  than  my  salvation.  It  seemed  altogether 
incompatible  with  the  holiness,  the  justice,  and  the  vera- 
city of  the  supreme  Being,  to  admit  so  stubborn  an 
offender  into  his  presence.  I  could  do  nothing  but  stand 
astonished  at  the  patience  of  God. 

"  Yesterday,  however,  as  I  sung  one  of  your  hymns, 
the  Lord  lifted  up  my  head,  and  commanded  me  to  face 
my  enemies.  By  his  grace  1  am  already  conqueror,  and 
I  doubt  not  but  I  shall  soon  be  more  than  conqueror. 
Although  I  deserve  it  not,  nevertheless,  hold  up  my  hands 
till  all  these  Amalekites  be  put  to  flight.    I  am,  &c, 

«  J.  F." 

21.  After  his  return  to  London,  which  was  soon  after, 
he  still  possessed  the  same  spirit  of  contrition  and  self- 
abasement.  I  must  here  observe,  however,  that  this 
spirit,  however  commendable  in  the  general,  and  how- 
ever essential  to  true  Christianity,  ytt  being  carried  to 
excess  in  his  particular  case,  became,  through  the  sub- 
tlety of  Satan,  a  source  of  trial  and  discouragement  to 
him.  On  the  14th  of  September  he  writes  to  the  same 
faithful  and  intimate  friend,  as  follows  : — 

My  Dear  Sir, — "  Your  last  lines  drew  tears  from  my 
eyes  :  I  cannot  wait  till  your  death  to  beseech  you  to  give 
me  that  benediction  of  which  you  speak.  I  conjure  you, 
in  the  name  of  Christ,  to  give  it  me  when  you  read  these 
lines,  and  to  repeat  it  as  often  as  you  think  of  a  poor 
brother  who  needs  the  prayers  of  every  one,  and  who 
cannot  part  with  yours. 

"  I  accept,  with  pleasure,  the  obliging  proposal  you 
make  me  for  the  approaching  winter;  and  I  entreat  you 
to  consider  it  less  as  a  proposal  than  as  an  engagement 
into  which  you  have  entered,  and  of  which  I  have  a  right 
to  solicit  the  fulfilment.  Permit  me  only  to  add  to  it 
one  condition,  which  is,  to  make  our  reading,  &c,  tend 


■18 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


as  much  as  possible  to  that  poverty  of  spirit  which  I  so 
greatly  need. 

"  A  few  days  ago  the  Lord  gave  me  two  or  three  les- 
sons on  the  subject  of  poverty  of  spirit,  but  alas  !  how 
have  I  forgotten  them  !  I  saw,  I  felt,  that  I  was  entirely 
void  of  wisdom  and  virtue.  I  was  ashamed  of  myself, 
and  I  could  say  with  a  degree  of  feeling  which  I  cannot 
describe,  Nil  ago,  nil  habeo,  sum  nil  ;  in  pulvere  serpo. 
(I  do  nothing,  have  nothing,  am  nothing  ;  I  crawl  in  the 
dust.)  I  could  then  say,  what  Gregory  Lopez  was  en- 
abled to  say  at  all  times,  '  There  is  no  man  of  whom  I 
have  not  a  better  opinion  than  of  myself.'  I  could  have 
placed  myself  under  the  feet  of  the  most  atrocious  sin- 
ner, and  have  acknowledged  him  for  a  saint  in  compari- 
son of  myself.  If  ever  I  am  humble  and  patient,  if  ever 
I  enjoy  solid  peace  of  mind,  it  must  be  in  this  very  spi- 
rit. Ah  !  why  do  I  not  actually  find  these  virtues  ?  Be- 
cause I  am  filled  with  self -sufficiency,  and  am  possessed 
by  that  self-esteem  which  blinds  me,  and  hinders  me 
from  doing  justice  to  my  own  demerits.  O  pray  that 
the  Spirit  of  Jesus  may  remove  these  scales  from  my 
eyes  for  ever,  and  compel  me  to  retire  into  my  own 
nothingness. 

"  To  what  a  monstrous  idea  had  you  well  nigh  given 
birth!  What!  the  labours  of  my  ministry  under  you  de- 
serve a  salary  !  Alas!  I  have  done  nothing  but  dishonour 
God  hitherto,  and  am  not  in  a  condition  to  do  any  thing 
else  for  the  future!  If  then  I  am  permitted  to  stand  in 
the  courts  of  the  Lord's  house,  is  it  not  for  me  to  make 
an  acknowledgment,  rather  than  to  receive  one?  If  I 
ever  receive  any  thing  of  the  Methodist  Church,  it  shall 
be  only  as  an  indigent  mendicant  receives  alms  without 
which  he  would  perish. 

"I  have  great  need  of  your  advice  relative  to  the  let- 
ters which  I  receive  one  after  another  from  my  relations, 
who  unite  in  their  invitations  to  me  to  return  to  my  own 
country  :  one  says,  to  settle  my  affairs  there  ;  another, 
to  preach  there  ;  a  third,  to  assist  him  to  die,  &c.  They 
press  me  to  declare  whether  I  renounce  my  family,  and 
the  demands  I  have  upon  it ;  and  my  mother  desires  that 
I  will  at  least  go  and  see  her;  and  commands  me  to  do 
so  in  the  strongest  terms.  What  answer  shall  I  make  ? 
If  she  thought  as  you  do,  I  should  write  to  her,  'Ubi 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


IB 


Christian!,  ibi  patria.'  (Where  the  Christians  are,  there 
is  my  country.)  '  My  mother,  my  brethren,  my  sisters, 
are  those  who  do  the  will  of  my  heavenly  Father :'  but 
she  is  not  in  a  state  of  mind  to  digest  such  an  answer : 
a  mother  is  a  mother  long.  On  the  other  hand,  1  have 
no  inclination  to  yield  to  their  desires,  which  appear  to 
me  merely  natural;  for  I  shall  lose  precious  time,  and 
incur  expense  :  my  presence  is  not  absolutely  necessary 
to  my  concerns  ;  and  it  is  more  probable  that  my  rela- 
tions will  pervert  me  to  vanity  and  interest,  than  that  I 
shall  convert  them  to  genuine  Christianity.  Lastly,  I 
shall  have  no  opportunity  to  exercise  my  ministry.  Our 
Swiss  ministers,  who  preach  only  once  a  week,  will  not 
look  upon  me  with  a  more  favourable  eye  than  the  mi- 
nisters here  ;  and  irregular  preaching  is  impracticable, 
and  would  only  cause  me  either  to  be  laid  in  prison,  or 
immediately  banished  from  the  country. 

"  How  does  your  family  do  ?  May  the  Almighty  be 
your  defence  day  and  night !  What  he  protects  is  well 
protected.  Permit  me  to  thank  you  for  the  sentence 
from  Kempis,  with  which  you  close  your  letter,  by  re- 
turning to  you  another:  '  You  run  no  risk  in  consider- 
ing yourself  as  the  wickedest  of  men  ;  but  you  are  in 
danger  if  you  prefer  yourself  to  any  one.'    I  am,  &,c, 

"J.  F." 

22.  With  respect  to  the  salary  that  had  been  offered 
him,  a  few  weeks  after  he  says,  "  I  fear  you  did  not 
rightly  understand  what  I  wrote  about  the  proposal  you 
made  me  at  London.  So  far  from  making  conditions,  I 
feel  myself  unworthy  of  receiving  them.  Be  it  what  it 
may,  I  thank  God  that  I  trouble  myself  with  no  tempo- 
ral things:  my  only  fear  is  that  of  having  loo  much, 
rather  than  too  little,  of  the  things  necessary  for  life.  I 
am  weary  of  abundance.  I  could  wish  to  be  poor  with 
my  Saviour;  and  those  whom  he  hath  chosen  to  be  rich 
in  faith,  appear  to  me  objects  of  envy  in  the  midst  of 
their  wants.  Happy  should  I  be  if  a  secret  pride  of 
heart  did  not  disguise  itself  under  these  appearances  of 
humility  !  Happy  should  I  be  if  that  dangerous  serpent 
did  not  conceal  himself  under  these  sweet  flowers,  and 
feed  on  their  juices." 

The  following  paragraphs  of  the  same  letter  seem  to 
deserve  a  place  here,  as  they  manifest  still  farther  the 


BO 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


Jowly  state  of  his  mind,  and  his  views  of  some  important 
branches  of  experimental  religion  in  this  early  stage  of 
his  Christian  course  : — "  Your  silence  began  to  make  me 
uneasy,  and  your  letter  had  well  nigh  made  me  draw  my 
pen  over  one  I  had  written  to  ask  the  cause  of  it.  The 
Lord  afflicts  you  ;  that  is  enough  to  silence  every  com- 
plaint ;  and  I  will  not  open  my  mouth,  except  it  be  to 
pray  the  Lord  to  enable  you  and  yours  to  bring  forth 
those  fruits  of  righteousness  which  attend  the  trials  of 
his  children.  Take  care  of  yourself  for  the  sake  of  the 
Lord's  little  flock,  and  for  me,  who,  with  all  the  impa- 
tience of  brotherly  love,  count  every  day  till  I  can  have 
the  pleasure  of  embracing  you. 

"  If  I  know  any  thing  of  true  brotherly  love,  which  I 
often  doubt,  it  agrees  perfectly  well  with  the  love  of 
God,  as  the  sounds  of  the  different  parts  in  music  agree 
with  each  other.  Their  union  arises  from  their  just  dif- 
ference, and  they  please  so  much  the  more  as  they  ap- 
pear the  more  opposed.  The  opposition  of  sentiments  be- 
tween Divine  and  brotherly  love,  together  with  the  sub- 
ordination of  the  latter,  forms  that  delightful  combat  in 
the  soul  of  a  believer  termed  by  the  apostle  the  being 
divided  between  two,  which  concludes  with  a  sacrifice  of 
resignation,  such  as  the  natural  man  is  incapable  of. 
Your  expression,  '  Spread  the  moral  sense  all  o'er,'* 
gives  me  an  idea  of  that  charity  which  I  seek.  The  love 
of  Gregory  Lopez  appears  to  me  to  have  been  too  stoic- 
al.] I  do  not  discover  in  it  that  vehement  desire,  those 
tears  of  love,  that  ardour  of  seeing  and  possessing  each 
other  in  the  bowels  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  I  find  so  fre- 
quently in  the  epistles  of  St.  Paul.  If  this  sensibility  be 
a  failing,  I  do  not  wish  to  be  exempt  from  it.  What  is 
your  opinion  ? 

*  Alluding  to  a  verse  of  that  fine  hymn,— 
"  I  want  a  principle  within, 

Of  jealous  godly  fear,"  &c., 
which  verse  appeared  in  the  former  editions  of  it,  but  was,  I  think, 
improperly  omitted  in  our  larg-e  hymn  book.    See  p.  297. 

t  This  is  a  just  remark.  The  life  of  a  hermit  is  not  the  life  of 
a  Christian.  How  much  better  do  we  answer  the  designs  of  our 
benevo'ent  Master,  when 

"  Freely  to  all  ourselves  we  give, 
Constraint  by  Jesus'  love  to  live 
The  servants  of  mankind." 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


51 


"  When  I  was  reading  Telemachus  with  my  pupils,  I 
was  struck  with  this  expression,  '  He  blushed  to  have 
been  born  with  so  little  feeling  for  men,  and  to  appear  to 
them  so  inhuman.'  I  easily  applied  the  first  part ;  and 
the  son  of  Ulysses  gave  me  an  example  of  Christian  re- 
pentance which  I  wish  to  follow  till  my  heart  is  truly 
circumcised.  Send  me  some  remedy,  or  give  me  some 
advice  against  this  hardness  of  heart  under  which  I 
groan.  What  you  say  about  reducing  a  mother  to  de- 
spair, has  made  me  recollect  what  1  have  often  thought, 
that  the  particular  fault  of  the  Swiss  is  to  be  without 
natural  affection.  With  respect  to  that  preference 
which  my  mother  shows  me  above  her  other  children,  I 
see  clearly  that  lam  indebted  for  almost  all  the  affection 
she  expresses  for  me  in  her  letters  to  my  absence  from 
her,  which  hinders  her  from  seeing  my  faults ;  and  I 
reproach  myself  severely,  that  I  cannot  interest  myself 
in  her  welfare  as  much  as  I  did  in  that  of  my  deceased 
father.    I  am,  &c,  J.  F." 

23.  The  reader  must  not  suppose,  however,  that  amid 
the  self-abasing  thoughts  which  occupied  his  mind,  and 
the  contrition  of  spirit  which  he  felt  and  manifested,  he 
was  devoid  of  confidence  in  God,  of  peace  and  consola- 
tion. Two  days  after  we  find  him  expressing  himself 
in  the  following  delightful  language,  in  a  letter  to  two 
pious  women : — 

"My  Dear  Sisters, — I  have  put  off  writing  to  you, 
lest  the  action  of  writing  should  divert  my  soul  from  the 
awful  and  delightful  worship  it  is  engaged  in.  But  I  now 
conclude  I  shall  be  no  loser  if  I  invite  you  to  love  Him 
my  soul  loveth,  to  dread  Him  my  soul  dreadeth,  to  adore 
Him  my  soul  adoreth.  Sink  with  me,  or  rather  let  me 
sink  witli  you  before  the  throne  of  grace;  and  while 
cherubim  veil  their  faces,  and  cry  out  in  tender  fear  and 
exquisite  trembling,  Holy  !  holy  !  holy  !  let  us  put  our  ' 
mouths  in  the  dust,  and  echo  back  the  solemn  sound, 
Holy!  holy!  holy!  Let  us  plunge  ourselves  into  that 
ocean  of  purity.  Let  us  try  to  fathom  the  depths  of 
Divine  mercy ;  and  convinced  of  the  impossibility  of 
such  an  attempt,  let  us  lose  ourselves  in  them.  Let  us 
be  comprehended  by  God,  if  we  cannot  comprehend 
him.  Let  us  he  supremely  happy  in  God.  Let  the  in- 
tenseness  of  our  happiness  border  on  misery,  because 


62 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


we  can  make  him  no  return.  Let  our  heads  become 
water,  and  our  eyes  fountains  of  tears — tears  of  humble 
repentance,  of  solemn  joy,  of  silent  admiration,  of  ex- 
alted adoration,  of  raptured  desires,  of  inflamed  trans- 
ports, of  speechless  awe.  My  Godr  and  my  all !  Your 
God,  and  your  all  !  Our  God,  and  our  all !  Praise  him, 
and  with  our  souls  blended  in  one  by  Divine  love,  let  us 
with  one  7>ioiith  glorify  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ, — our  Father,  who  is  over  all,  through  all,  and 
in  us  all. 

"I  charge  you  before  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
giveth  life,  and  more  abundant  life  ;  I  entreat  you,  by  all 
the  actings  of  faith,  the  exertions  of  hope,  the  flames  of 
love  you  ever  felt,  sink  to  greater  depths  of  self-abasing 
repentance,  and  rise  to  greater  heights  of  Christ-exalting 
joy.  And  let  Him  who  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abun- 
dantly more  than  you  can  ask  or  think,  carry  on  and 
fulfil  in  you  the  work  of  faith  with  power ;  with  that 
power  whereby  he  subdueth  all  things  to  himself.  Be 
steadfast  in  hope,  immovable  in  patience  and  love*, 
always  abounding  in  the  outward  and  inward  labour  of 
love,  and  receive  the  end  of  your  faith,  the  salvation  of 
your  souls.    I  am,  &c,  J.  F." 

24.  Where  Mr.  Fletcher  was,  when  he  wrote  the  let- 
ter last  quoted,  is  not  certain;  it  seems  most  probable, 
however,  that  he  was  at  Tern.  And  if  his  friend,  Mr. 
Yaughan,  be  right,  it  was  about  the  close  of  this  summer 
that  he  was  frequently  desired,  sometimes  to  assist,  at 
other  times  to  perform  the  whole  service  for  Mr.  Cham- 
bers, then  vicar  of  Madeley.  On  these  occasions  it  was 
that  he  contracted  such  an  affection  for  the  people  of 
Madeley  as  nothing  could  hinder  from  increasing  more 
and  more  to  the  day  of  his  death.  While  he  officiated 
at  Madeley,  as  he  still  lived  at  the  Hall,  ten  miles  distant 
from  it,  a  groom  was  ordered  to  get  a  horse  ready  for 
him  every  Sunday  morning.  But  so  great  was  his  aver- 
sion to  giving  trouble  to  any  one,  that  if  the  groom  did 
not  awake  at  the  time,  he  seldom  would  suffer  him  to  be 
called,  but  prepared  the  horse  for  himself. 

25.  On  the  15th  of  November  the  same  year,  Mr. 
Fletcher  was  again  in  London,  where  he  had  been  at 
least  eight  or  ten  days.  Here,  as  it  appears  from  one 
of  his  letters  to  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  the  countess  of 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


53 


Huntingdon  had  proposed  to  him  to  celebrate  the  com- 
munion at  her  house  sometimes  in  a  morning,  and  to 
preach  when  occasion  offered.  This  proposal  was  not 
meant,  however,  to  restrain  his  liberty  of  preaching, 
where  he  might  have  an  invitation,  nor  to  prevent  his 
assisting  Mr.  Wesley,  or  preaching  to  the  French  re- 
fugees; but  only  to  fill  up  his  vacant  lime,  till  Provi- 
dence should  open  a  way  for  him  elsewhere. 

"Charity,  politeness,  and  reason,"  says  Mr.  Fletcher, 
"accompanied  her  offer;  and  I  confess,  in  spite  of  the 
resolution  which  I  had  almost  absolutely  formed,  to  fly 
the  houses  of  the  great  without  even  the  exception  of 
the  countess',  I  found  myself  so  greatly  changed,  that  I 
should  have  accepted  on  the  spot  a  proposal  which  I 
should  have  declined  from  any  other  mouth  ;  but  my 
engagement  with  you  (Mr.  Charles  Wesley)  withheld 
me :  and  thanking  the  countess,  I  told  her  when  I  had 
reflected  on  her  obliging  offer,  I  would  do  myself  the 
honour  of  waiting  upon  her  again. 

"Nevertheless,  two  difficulties  stand  in  my  way.  Will 
it  be  consistent  with  that  poverty  of  spirit  which  I  seek? 
Can  I  accept  an  office  for  which  I  have  such  small  ta- 
lents ?  And  shall  I  not  dishonour  the  cause  of  God,  by 
stammering  out  the  mysteries  of  the  Gospel  in  a  place 
where  the  most  approved  ministers  of  the  Lord  have 
preached  with  so  much  power,  and  so  much  success  ?  I 
suspect  that  my  own  vanity  gives  more  weight  to  this 
second  objection  than  it  deserves  to  have.  What  think 
you? 

"  I  give  myself  to  your  judicious  counsels.  You  take 
unnecessary  pains  to  assure  me  that  they  are  disinte- 
rested ;  for  I  cannot  doubt  it.  I  feel  myself  unworthy 
of  them;  much  more  still  of  the  appellation  of  friend, 
with  which  you  honour  me.  You  are  an  indulgent  fa- 
ther to  me,  and  the  name  of  son  suits  me  better  than 
that  of  brother." 

26.  He  seems  to  have  continued  in  London,  assisting 
the  Messrs.  Wesley,  and  preaching  wherever  he  had  a 
call,  till  the  beginning  of  March  following,  on  the  first 
day  of  which  he  writes  to  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  from 
Dunstable. 

"The  fine  weather  invites  me  to  execute  a  design  I 
had  half  formed,  of  making  a  forced  march  to  spend 


54 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


next  Sunday  at  Everton,  Mr.  Berridge's  parieh.  There 
may  the  voice  of  the  Lord  be  heard  by  a  poor  child  of 
Adam,  who,  like  him,  is  still  behind  the  trees  of  his  own 
stupidity  and  impenitence ! 

"  If  I  do  not  lose  myself  across  the  fields  before  I  get 
there,  and  if  the  Lord  be  pleased  to  grant  me  the  spirit 
of  supplication,  I  will  pray  for  you,  and  your  dear  sister 
at  P  ,  until  I  can  again  pray  with  you.  Don't  for- 
get me,  I  beseech  you.  If  the  Lord  bring  me  to  your 
remembrance,  cast  your  bread  on  the  waters  on  my  be- 
half, and  perhaps  you  will  find  it  again  after  many  days. 
I  would  fain  be  with  you  on  those  solemn  occasions 
when  a  thousand  voices  are  raised  to  heaven  to  obtain 
those  graces  which  I  have  not :  but  God's  will  be  done. 

"Don't  forget  to  present  my  respects  to  the  countess. 
If  I  continue  any  time  atEverton,  1  shall  take  the  liberty 
of  giving  her  some  account  of  the  work  of  God  in  those 
parts  ;  if  not,  I  will  give  it  her  in  person. — Adieu.  The 
Lord  strengthen  you  in  soul  and  body." 

27.  Where  or  how  Mr.  Fletcher  spent  the  spring  and 
summer  of  this  year,  I  believe  we  have  no  certain  infor- 
mation. But  in  September  following  he  was  at  Tern- 
hall,  in  Shropshire,  from  whence  on  the  26th  he  wrote 
to  Lady  Huntingdon,  and  gave  the  following  account  of 
his  call  to  Madeley  : — 

"  Last  Sunday  the  vicar  of  Madeley,  to  whom  I  was 
formerly  curate,  coming  to  pay  a  visit  here,  expressed  a 
great  regard  for  me,  seemed  to  be  quite  reconciled,  and 
assured  me  that  he  would  do  all  that  was  in  his  power 
to  serve  me  ;  of  which  he  yesterday  gave  me  a  proof,  by 
sending  me  a  testimonial  unasked.  He  was  no  sooner 
gone  than  news  was  brought  that  the  old  clergyman  I 
mentioned  to  your  ladyship  died  suddenly  the  day  be- 
fore;  and  that  same  day,  before  I  heard  it,  Mr.  Hill, 
meeting  at  the  races  his  nephew,  who  is  patron  of  Ma- 
deley, told  him  that  if  he  would  present  me  to  Madeley, 
he  would  give  the  vicar  of  that  parish  the  living  vacated 
by  the  old  clergyman's  death.  This  was  immediately 
agreed  to,  as  Mr.  Hill  himself  informed  me  in  the  eve- 
ning, wishing  me  joy.  Thi-s  new  promise,  the  manner 
in  which  Mr.  Hill  forced  me  from  London  to  be  here  at 
this  time,  and  the  kindness  of  the  three  ministers  I  men- 
tioned, whose  hearts  seemed  to  be  turned  at  this  june- 


LIFE  OF  RKV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


55 


ture  to  sign  my  testimonials  for  institution,  are  so  many 
orders  to  he  still,  and  wait  till  the  door  is  quite  open  or 
shut.  1  beg,  therefore,  your  ladyship  would  present  my 
respects  and  thanks  to  Lady  Margaret  and  Mr.  Ingham, 
and  acquaint  them  with  the  necessity  which  these  cir- 
cumstances lay  ine  under  to  follow  the  leadings  of  Pro- 
vidence." 

"This  (adds  he  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Charles  Wesley)  is 
agreeable  to  the  advice  you  have  so  repeatedly  given  me, 
not  to  resist  Providence,  but  to  follow  its  leadings.  I 
am,  however,  inwardly  in  suspense;  my  heart  revolts  at 
the  idea  of  being  here  alone,  opposed  by  my  superiors, 
hated  by  my  neighbours,  and  despised  by  all  the  world. 
Without  piety,  without  talents,  without  resolution,  how 
shall  I  repel  the  assaults,  and  surmount  the  obstacles 
which  I  foresee,  if  I  discharge  my  duty  at  Madeley  with 
fidelity  ?  On  the  other  hand,  to  reject  this  presentation, 
to  burn  this  certificate,  and  to  leave  in  the  desert  the 
sheep  whom  the  Lord  has  evidently  brought  me  into 
the  world  to  feed,  appears  to  me  nothing  but  obstinacy 
and  refined  self-love.  I  will  hold  a  middle  course  be- 
tween these  extremes;  I  will  be  wholly  passive  in  the 
steps  I  must  take,  and  active  in  praying  the  Lord  to  de- 
liver me  from  the  evil  one,  and  to  conduct  me  in  the  way 
he  would  have  me  to  go. 

"  If  you  see  any  thing  better,  inform  me  of  it  speedily  ; 
and,  at  the  same  time,  remember  me  in  all  your  prayers, 
that  if  this  matter  be  not  of  the  Lord,  the  enmity  of  the 
bishop  of  Litchfield,  who  must  countersign  my  testimo- 
nials ;  the  threats  of  the  chaplain  of  the  bishop  of  Here- 
ford, who  was  a  witness  to  my  preaching  at  West-street ; 
the  objections  drawn  from  my  not  being  naturalized,  or 
some  other  obstacle,  may  prevent  the  kind  intentions 
of  Mr.  Hill.  Adieu." 

28.  Neither  Mr.  Charles  nor  Mr.  John  Wesley,  nor 
it  seems  any  of  his  other  friends,  to  whom  he  communi- 
cated this  business,  offering  any  material  objections,  Mr. 
Fletcher  accepted  the  presentation  to  the  vicarage  of 
Madeley,  in  preference  to  another  that  was  of  double  the 
value.  He  embraced  it  as  his  pecidiar  charge,  the  object 
of  his  most  tender  affection.  And  he  was  now  at  leisure 
to  attend  it,  being  fully  discharged  from  his  former  em- 
ployment ;  for  his  pupils  were  removed  to  Cambridge, 


66 


1IFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


The  elder  of  them  died  about  the  time  of  his  coming  of 
age.  The  younger  first  represented  the  town  of  Salop, 
(as  his  father  had  done,)  afterward  the  county  ;  till  he 
took  his  seat  in  the  house  of  peers,  as  Baron  Berwick, 
of  Attingham-house.  This  is  now  the  name  that  is  given 
to  what  was  formerly  called  Tern-hall. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Of  his  qualifications  for,  and  faithfulness  in,  the  work  of  the  mi- 
nistry ;  and  of  his  labours  at  Madeley,  and  elsewhere. 

1.  "He  who  engages  himself  to  fight  the  battles  of 
the  Lord,"  says  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gilpin,  "  has  need  of  un- 
common strength  and  irresistible  arms  ;  and  if  he  be  de- 
stitute of  one  or  the  other,  he  vainly  expects  to  stand  in 
the  evil  day.  The  Christian  warrior  is  exposed  to  a  vast 
variety  of  dangers,  and  beset  with  innumerable  enemies. 
His  whole  life  is  one  continued  scene  of  warfare,  in 
which  he  wrestles  sometimes  with  visible,  and  at  other 
times  with  invisible  adversaries.  For  the  labours  of 
this  sacred  warfare  no  man  ever  esteemed  himself  less  suf- 
ficient than  Mr.  Fletcher.  He  ever  considered  himself  as 
the  weakest  of  Christ's  adherents,  and  unworthy  to  follow 
his  glorious  standard.  But  while  he  boasted  no  inherent 
strength,  and  was  ready  to  occupy  the  meanest  post,  he 
was  regarded  by  his  brethren  as  a  man  peculiarly  strong 
in  the  Lord,  and  in  the  power  of  his  might.  United  to 
Christ,  as  the  branch  is  united  to  the  vine,  he  was  con- 
stantly deriving  abundant  supplies  of  vigour  from  the 
fountain  head  of  power.  And  as  the  source  of  his 
strength  was  inexhaustible,  so  its  operations  were  vari- 
ous and  incessant.  Now  it  was  engaged  in  subduing 
sin ;  and  now,  in  labouring  after  that  holiness  without 
which  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord  ;  there  it  inspired  the 
courage  of  the  mighty,  and  here  it  sustained  the  burdens 
of  the  weak  :  at  one  time  it  was  discovered  by  resolution 
and  zeal;  at  another,  by  resignation  and  fortitude:  by 
the  former,  this  man  of  God  was  enabled  to  grapple  with 
his  strongest  enemy ;  by  the  latter,  he  was  taught  to  en- 
dure hardness  as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ. 

2.  "  Mr.  Fletcher's  arms  were  equal  to  his  strength, 
and  served  to  make  him  truly  invincible  in  the  cause 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


67 


of  godliness.  From  his  first  admission  into  the  true 
Church  militant,  he  was  fully  persuaded  that  armour 
forged  by  the  art  of  man  must  needs  be  insufficient, 
either  for  conquest  or  security,  in  a  spiritual  warfare. 
He  saw  it  absolutely  necessary  to  be  furnished  with 
weapons  of  celestial  temper,  and  was  altogether  dis- 
satisfied with  his  state  till  he  had  put  on  the  whole 
armour  of  God,  with  a  determined  resolution  never  to 
put  it  off  till  his  last  conflict  should  be  decided.  He 
then  appeared  in  the  complete  Christian  uniform  ;  from 
the  helmet  of  salvation  to  the  sandals  of  peace,  all  was 
entire,  and  perfectly  fitted  to  his  spiritual  frame.  No 
mortal  part  was  left  unguarded,  nor  was  any  joint  of 
his  harness  so  loose  as  to  admit  a  thrust  from  the  enemy. 
No  part  of  his  sacred  panoply  appeared  uncouth  or 
cumbersome,  no  part  of  his  carriage  constrained  or  un- 
natural :  he  appeared  in  arms  as  in  his  proper  dress, 
and  not  as  David,  when  he  essayed  to  go  forth  in  the 
armour  of  Saul.  On  no  occasion  was  he  ever  known 
to  affect  any  thing  like  spiritual  pomp  ;  yet,  on  every 
occasion,  there  was  a  dignity  of  character  in  his  deport- 
ment that  raised  the  veneration  of  every  beholder.  As 
the  heroes  of  antiquity  were  distinguished  from  warriors 
of  an  inferior  order  by  the  splendour  of  their  arms,  so, 
by  the  uncommon  lustre  of  his  graces,  he  was  distin- 
guished as  a  chieftain  in  the  Christian  bands." 

3.  By  the  account  given  in  the  preceding  pages,  the 
reader  will  observe  that  it  was  not  "  immediately  (Gil- 
pin's Notes)  upon  his  entering  into  orders  that  Mr. 
Fletcher  was  appointed  statedly  to  labour  in  any  parti- 
cular place.  As  he  still  continued  in  the  family  of  Mr. 
Hill,  he  was  but  occasionally  called  to  exercise  the  mi- 
nistry he  had  received.  Bnt,  wherever  he  was  invited 
to  speak  in  the  name  of  his  Master,  he  effectually  dis- 
tinguished himself  from  the  generality  of  ministers  by 
the  earnestness  and  zeal  with  which  he  delivered  hi9 
message.  Whatever  his  hand  found  to  do,  in  any  part 
of  the  sacred  vineyard,  it  may  truly  be  said  that  he  did 
it  with  all  his  might :  and  there  is  much  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  even  these  occasional  labours  were  not  in  vain 
in  the  Lord.  It  was  about  three  years  after  his  ordina- 
tion that  he  was  presented  to  the  living  of  Madeley, 
where  he  had  officiated  for  some  time  previous  to  this 
3' 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


appointment.  As  Madeley  was  the  place  of  his  choice, 
so  it  was  a  place  to  which,  by  his  rare  endowments,  he 
was  peculiarly  adapted,  and  lor  the  reformation  of  which 
he  appears  to  have  been  eminently  appointed  by  the 
providence  of  God.  Celebrated  for  the  extensive  works 
carried  on  within  its  limits,  Madeley  was  remarkable 
for  little  else  than  the  ignorance  and  profaneness  of  its 
inhabitants,  among  whom  respect  to  man  was  as  rarely 
to  be  observed  as  piety  toward  God.  In  this  benighted 
place  the  Sabbath  was  openly  profaned,  and  the  most 
holy  things  contemptuously  trampled  under  foot;  even 
the  restraints  of  decency  were  violently  broken  through, 
and  the  external  form  of  religion  held  up  as  a  subject 
of  ridicule.  This  general  description  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Madeley  must  not,  however,  be  indiscriminately  ap- 
plied to  every  individual  among  them  ;  exceptions  there 
were  to  this  prevailing  character,  but  they  were  com- 
paratively few  indeed.  Such  was  the  place  where  Mr. 
Fletcher  was  called  to  stand  forth  as  a-  preacher  of 
righteousness,  and  in  which  he  appeared  for  tbe  space 
of  five  and  twenty  years  as  a  burning  ami  shining  light. 

4.  "  Immediately  upon  his  settling  in  this  populous 
village,  which  was  in  the  year  1760,  he  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  his  vocation  with  an  extraordinary  degree 
of  earnestness  and  zeal.  He  saw  the  difficulties  of  his 
situation,  and  the  reproaches  to  which  he  should  be 
exposed,  by  a  conscientious  discharge  of  the  pastoral 
office  :  but,  persuaded  of  the  importance  of  his  charge, 
and  concerned  for  the  welfare  of  his  people,  he  set  his 
face  like  a  flint  against  all  who  might  oppose  the  truth 
or  grace  of  God.  As  a  steward  of  the  manifold  grace 
of  God,  he  faithfully  dispensed  the  word  of  life  accord- 
ing as  every  man  had  need  ;  instructing  the  ignorant, 
reasoning  with  gainsayers,  exhorting  the  immoral,  and 
rebuking  the  obstinate.  Instant  in  season  and  out  of 
season,  he  diligently  performed  the  work  of  an  evange- 
list, and  lost  no  opportunity  of  declaring  the  truths  of 
the  Gospel.  Not  content  with  discharging  the  stated 
duties  of  the  Sabbath,  he  counted  that  day  as  lost  in 
which  he  was  not  actually  employed  in  the  service  of 
the  Church.  As  often  as  a  small  congregation  could 
be  collected,  which  was  usually  every  evening,  he  joy- 
Cully  proclaimed  to  them  the  acceptable  year  of  the 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


BO 


Lord,  whether  it  were  in  the  place  set  apart  for  public 
worship,  in  a  private  house,  or  in  the  open  air.  And 
on  these  occasions,  the  affectionate  and  fervent  mariner 
in  which  he  addressed  his  hearers  was  an  affecting  proof 
of  the  interest  he  took  in  their  spiritual  concerns.  As 
the  varying  circumstances  of  his  people  required,  he 
assumed  a  different  appearance  among  them  :  at  one 
season  he  would  open  his  mouth  in  blessings  ;  and  at 
another,  he  would  appear,  like  his  Lord,  amid  the  buyers 
and  sellers,  with  the  lash  of  righteous  severity  in  his 
hand.  But,  in  whatever  way  he  exercised  his  ministry, 
it  is  evident  that  his  labours  were  influenced  by  love, 
and  tended  immediately,  either  to  the  extirpation  of  sin, 
or  the  increase  of  holiness. 

5.  "  Nor  was  he  less  attentive  to  the  private  duties  of 
his  station  than  to  public  exhortation  and  prayer.  Like 
a  vigilant  pastor,  he  daily  acquainted  himself  with  the 
wants  and  dispositions  of  his  people,  anxiously  watching 
over  their  several  households,  and  diligently  teaching 
them  from  family  to  family.  Esteeming  no  man  too 
mean,  too  ignorant,  or  too  profane  to  merit  his  affec- 
tionate attention,  he  condescended  to  the  lowest  and 
most  unworthy  of  his  flock,  cheerfully  becoming  the 
servant  of  all,  that  he  might  gain  the  more.  In  the 
performance  of  this  part  of  his  duty  he  discovered  ao 
admirable  mixture  of  discretion  and  zeal,  solemnity  and 
sweetness.  He  rebuked  not  an  elder,  but  entreated  him 
as  a  father  ;  to  younger  men  he  addressed  himself  with 
the  affection  of  a  brother,  and  to  children  with  th«  ten- 
derness of  a  parent ;  witnessing  both  to  small  and  great 
the  redemption  that  is  in  Jesus,  and  persuading  them  to 
cast  in  their  lot  with  the  people  of  God.  In  some  of 
these  holy  visits,  the  earnest  and  constraining  manner 
in  which  he  has  pleaded  the  cause  of  piety  has  melted 
down  a  whole  family  at  once  ;  the  old  and  the  young 
have  mingled  their  tears  together,  and  solemnly  deter- 
mined to  turn  right  humbly  to  their  God.  There  were 
indeed  several  families  in  his  populous  parish,  to  which 
he  had  no  access,  whose  members,  loving  darkness  rather 
than  light,  agreed  to  deny  him  admission,  lest  their  deeds 
should  be  reproved.  In  such  cases,  where  his  zeal  for 
the  salvation  of  individuals  could  not  possibly  be  mani- 
fested by  persuasion  and  entreaty,  it  was  effectually  dis- 


(50 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FXETCHER. 


covered  by  supplication  and  prayer  :  nor  did  he  ever 
pass  the  door  of  an  opposing  family  without  breathing 
out  an  earnest  desire  that  the  door  of  mercy  might  never 
be  barred  against  their  approaches. 

6.  "  With  respect  to  his  attendance  upon  the  sick,  he 
was  exemplary  and  indefatigable.  '  It  was  a  work  (says 
Mr.  Wesley)  for  which  he  was  always  ready  :  if  he  heard 
the  knocker  in  the  coldest  winter  night,  his  window  was 
thrown  open  in  a  moment.  And  when  he  understood 
either  that  some  one  was  hurt  in  a  pit,  or  that  a  neigh- 
bour was  likely  to  die,  no  consideration  was  ever  had 
of  the  darkness  of  the  night,  or  the  severity  of  the  wea- 
ther ;  but  this  answer  was  always  given,  I  will  attend 
you  immediately.'  Anxious  (proceeds  Mr.  Gilpin)  upon 
every  suitable  occasion  to  treat  with  his  parishioners  on 
subjects  of  a  sacred  nature,  he  was  peculiarly  solicitous 
to  confer  with  them  when  verging  toward  the  borders 
of  eternity.  At  such  seasons,  when  earthly  objects  lose 
their  charms,  and  the  mind  is  naturally  disposed  to  look 
for  support  from  some  other  quarter,  he  cheerfully  came 
in  to  improve  the  providential  visitation,  either  by  salu- 
tary advice  or  seasonable  consolation.  These  were 
valuable  opportunities,  which  nothing  could  prevail  upon 
him  to  neglect,  fully  convinced  that  the  dictates  of  truth 
are  never  more  likely  to  make  a  due  impression  upon 
the  heart  than  when  they  are  delivered  in  the  antecham- 
ber of  death.  His  treatment  of  the  dying  was  always 
regulated  by  their  peculiar  circumstances,  and  his  fide- 
lity toward  them  was  sweetly  tempered  with  compas- 
sion. If  the  departing  soul  was  prepared  for  the  pro- 
mises of  the  Gospel,  he  thankfully  administered  them 
with  a  lavish  hand  ;  if  otherwise,  he  was  importunate 
in  prayer  that  the  mercy  of  God  might  be  magnified 
upon  his  languishing  creature,  though  it  should  be  as  at 
the  eleventh  hour.  As  he  never  visited  the  chambers 
of  the  dying  but  in  the  spirit  of  earnest  supplication,  so 
he  seldom  quitted  them  without  some  degree  of  conso- 
latory hope. 

7.  "  There  is  still  another  part  of  his  duty,  in  the  dis- 
charge of  which  he  discovered  unusual  earnestness  and 
activity.  It  was  a  common  thing  in  his  parish  for  young 
persons  of  both  sexes  to  meet  at  stated  times,  for  the 
purpose  of  what  is  called  recreation,  and  this  recreatiou 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


61 


usually  continued  from  evening  to  morning,  consisting 
chiefly  in  dancing,  revelling,  drunkenness,  and  obscenity. 
These  licentious  assemblies  he  considered  as  a  disgrace 
to  the  Christian  name,  and  determined  to  exert  his  minis- 
terial authority  for  their  total  suppression.  He  has  fre- 
quently burst  in  upon  these  disorderly  companies  with 
a  holy  indignation,  making  war  upon  Satan  in  places 
peculiarly  appropriated  to  his  service.  Nor  was  his 
labour  altogether  in  vain  among  the  children  of  dissipa- 
tion and  folly.  After  standing  the  first  shock  of  their 
rudeness  and  brutality,  his  exhortations  have  been  gene- 
rally received  with  silent  submission,  and  have  some- 
times produced  a  partial  if  not  an  entire  reformation  in 
many  who  were  accustomed  to  frequent  these  assemblies. 
With  one  of  these  persons  I  am  perfectly  acquainted, 
who,  having  treated  this  venerable  pastor  with  ridicule 
and  abuse  in  one  of  these  riotous  assemblies,  was  shortly 
afterward  constrained  to  cast  himself  at  his  feet,  and 
solicit  his  prayers.  This  man  is  now  steadily  walking 
in  the  fear  of  God,  with  a  thankful  remembiance  of  the 
extraordinary  manner  in  which  he  was  plucked  as  a 
brand  from  the  burning. 

"  These,  and  every  other  duty  of  his  sacred  vocation, 
among  which  I  might  have  particularly  noticed  the  pub- 
lic and  private  instruction  of  children,  were  performed 
by  this  apostolic  minister  with  an  earnestness  and  zeal 
of  which  I  can  convey  but  a  very  imperfect  idea.  Never 
weary  of  well  doing,  he  counted  it  his  greatest  privilege 
to  spend  and  be-spent  in  ministering  to  the  Church,  which 
he  constantly  honoured  as  the  body  of  Christ,  and  in  the 
service  of  which  he  sacrificed  his  strength,  his  health, 
and  his  life." 

8.  So  far  Mr.  Gilpin,  who,  living  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, and  being  well  acquainted  both  with  the  state  of 
the  parish  of  Madeley,  and  with  Mr.  Fletcher's  conduct 
and  labours  among  its  inhabitants,  could  speak  from 
personal  knowledge  of  the  facts  he  relates.  It  is  certain, 
as  Mr.  Wesley  has  also  testified,  that,  "  from  the  begin- 
ning of  his  settling  there,  he  was  a  laborious  workman 
in  his  Lord's  vineyard  ;"  endeavouring  to  spread  the 
truth  of  the  Gospel,  and  to  suppress  vice  in  every  pos- 
sible way.  "  Those  sinners  who  endeavoured  to  hide 
themselves  from  him  he  pursued  to  every  corner  of  his 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


parish  ;  by  all  sorts  of  means,  public  and  private,  early 
and  late,  in  season  and  out  of  season,  entreating  and 
warning  them  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come.  Some 
made  it  an  excuse  for  not  attending  the  Church  service 
on  a  Sunday  morning  that  they  could  not  awake  early 
enough  to  get  their  families  ready.  He  provided  for 
this  also.  Taking  a  bell  in  his  hand,  he  set  out  every 
Sunday  for  some  months,  at  five  in  the  morning,  and 
went  around  the  most  distant  parts  of  the  parish,  invit- 
ing all  the  inhabitants  to  the  house  of  God." 

9.  In  the  meantime  it  was  his  constant  care  rightly 
to  divide  to  all  the  word  of  truth.  This,  it  will  readily 
be  acknowledged,  is  a  work  of  no  little  importance  in 
the  Church  of  God.  "  Here  fidelity  and  skill  are  equally 
necessary,  and  if  either  be  wanting  the  work  will  be 
incomplete.  With  respect  to  the  latter,  either  as  it 
regards  the  word  of  God,  or  as  it  relates  to  the  human 
heart,  Mr.  Fletcher  was  abundantly  qualified  for  the 
discharge  of  his  office.  As  to  the  human  heart,  he  had 
so  long  and  so  accurately  investigated  his  own,  that  he 
was  not  easily  deceived  in  forming  a  judgment  of  his 
neighbour's.  He  knew  its  depths  as  well  as  its  shal- 
lows, and  its  subtle  artifices  as  well  as  its  natural  tem- 
pers ;  he  explored  its  intricate  mazes,  and  unlocked  its 
secret  recesses  with  wonderful  ease ;  and  could  generally 
discover  its  real  situation  through  every  disguise.  With 
regard  to  the  word  of  God,  he  had  studied  it  with  so 
much  constancy  and  care  that  he  was  perfectly  familiar 
with  every  part  of  it.  He  was  deeply  read  in  the  spi- 
ritual sense  of  the  word,  and  had  a  happy  talent  at  re- 
conciling its  apparent  contradictions.  He  could  select 
from  it  with  the  utmost  readiness  truths  of  every  dif- 
ferent tendency,  and  knew  how  to  apply  them,  not  only 
in  common  cases,  but  in  the  most  extraordinary  exigen- 
cies of  God's  people. 

10.  "  His  fidelity  in  addressing  the  different  classes 
of  his  hearers  was  correspondent  to  that  spirit  of  dis- 
cernment and  wisdom  with  which  he  was  so  eminently 
favoured.  On  the  one  hand,  he  never  attempted  slightly 
to  heal  the  hurt  of  his  people  :  and,  on  the  other,  he  was 
6olicitous  never  to  make  sad  the  heart  of  the  righteous, 
whom  God  had  not  made  sad.  Wherever  he  discovered 
impiety  in  the  conduct,  or  hypocrisy  in  the  heart,  he 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


63 


immediately  levelled  against  it  the  keenest  arrows  of 
conviction.  He  warned  the  wicked  of  his  way,  and  fre- 
quently endeavoured  to  draw  him  from  it  by  alarming 
his  heart  with  salutary  fears ;  selecting  and  applying 
upon  these  occasions  those  passages  of  Holy  Writ  which 
are  peculiarly  profitable  for  reproof  and  correction. 
And  whenever  it  became  necessary,  he  marshalled 
against  the  careless  sinner  the  most  terrible  denuncia- 
tions of  the  Almighty's  wrath.  In  the  performance  of 
this  part  of  his  duty,  he  paid  but  little  regard  to  the  out- 
ward circumstances  of  the  offending  party.  Whether 
the  enemies  of  God  appeared  in  the  splendour  of  riches, 
or  in  the  meanness  of  poverty  ;  whether  they  were  dis- 
tinguished by  their  erudition,  or  despicable  by  their 
ignorance,  he  met  them  with  equal  firmness  in  the  cause 
of  truth. 

11.  "The  style  of  his  reproofs  was  adapted,  indeed, 
to  the  various  capacities  and  habits  of  those  different 
classes  of  men ;  but  the  substance  of  these  reproofs  was 
invariably  the  same,  to  whatever  class  they  were  di- 
rected, neither  sharpened  by  contempt,  nor  blunted  by 
respect.  Unawed  either  by  the  majesty  of  kings,  or  the 
madness  of  the  people,  he  was  equally  fitted  to  appear 
with  Moses  at  an  impious  court,  or  to  stand  with  Stephen 
in  a  turbulent  assembly.  But  though  he  was  far  from 
betraying  any  pusillanimity  in  applying  the  severe  threat- 
enings  of  the  Gospel  to  the  obstinately  impenitent,  yet 
his  heart  in  this  awful  employment  was  never  steeled 
against  the  feelings  of  humanity.  His  fidelity  in  this 
part  of  his  duty  was  never  unaccompanied  with  com- 
passion and  sorrow.  He  possessed  the  firmness  of 
Daniel,  with  all  the,  benevolence  of  that  favoured  pro*- 
phet.  Daniel  was  once  directed  to  interpret  and  ap- 
ply to  Nebuchadnezzar  a  mysterious  vision  of  Divine 
vengeance,  and  the  fidelity  with  which  he  performed  so 
painful  a  duty  is  worthy  of  admiration.  But  while  his 
interpretation  was  plain,  and  his  application  pointed,  it 
is  observable  that  they  were  preceded  by  evident  regret, 
and  followed  by  affectionate  counsel.  Such  was  the 
manner  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  who  had  learned  from  a  greater 
than  Daniel,  to  pronounce  a  sentence  of  condenmatioa 
with  anguish  and  tears,  Luke  xix,  41. 

\%  "But  while  he  was  faithful  in  proclaiming  the  iffjt 


04 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


of  vengeance  to  the  disobedient,  he  neglected  not  to 
proclaim  liberty  to  the  captives,  and  the  opening  of  the 
prison  to  them  that  were  bound.  Both  these  parts  of 
his  duty  he  performed  with  fidelity,  but  the  latter  only 
with  alacrity  and  cheerfulness.  Peculiarly  to  fit  him 
for  this  evangelical  service,  the  Lord  God  had  given 
him  the  tongue  of  the  learned,  that  he  should  know  how 
to  speak  a  word,  in  season  to  him,  that  is  weary ;  and  in 
the  discharge  of  this  favourite  part  of  his  office  he  was 
equally  skilful,  tender,  and  happy.  His  watchful  eye 
was  upon  the  weak,  the  faint,  and  the  afflicted.  He 
diligently  acquainted  himself  with  the  nature  and  causes 
of  their  distress  ;  and  whether  they  fainted  through  the 
anguish  of  remorse,  or  groaned  beneath  the  violence  of 
temptation,  he  had  a  suitable  cordial  prepared  for  their 
relief.  He  placed  before  their  eyes  a  rich  display  of 
God's  everlasting  love,  and  assisted  them  to  extract 
healing  virtue  from  his  unchangeable  promises.  He 
feelingly  exhorted  them  to  stretch  out  the  withered 
hand  ;  and  till  they  were  enabled  actually  to  lay  hold  on 
the  hope  set  before  them  he  ceased  not  to  proclaim  the 
Lord,  the  Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long  suf- 
fering, abundant  in  goodness  and  truth,  keeping  mercy 
for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity,  transgression,  and 
sin  I 

13.  "  He  was  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  treat- 
ment of  afflicted  consciences.  He  knew  when  to  probe, 
and  when  to  heal ;  when  to  depress,  and  when  to  en- 
courage :  and  no  man's  case  was  so  perplexed  or  despe- 
rate, but  he  was  in  some  measure  prepared  to  explain  and 
relieve  it.  He  discovered  hope  for  the  spiritual  mourner 
amid  the  most  hopeless  circumstances,  and  furnished  the 
tempted  with  a  clew  to  guide  them  through  the  intrica- 
cies of  their  situation.  As  the  psalmist  addressed  his 
own  heart  in  distress,  so  he  addressed  himself  to  every 
son  of  affliction  in  the  day  of  his  trouble.  He  reasoned 
over  the  particular  case  of  the  afflicted  person :  Why 
art  thou  so  full  of  heaviness,  and  why  is  thy  soul  so 
disquieted  within  thee  ?  Art  thou  afflicted  beyond  the 
common  lot  of  thy  companions  in  tribulation,  or  has 
any  temptation  befallen  thee,  except  such  as  is  common 
to  man  ?  From  reasoning  he  proceeded  to  encourage- 
ment.   Hope  thou  in  God :  reflect  upon  his  nature,  de- 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


0-5 


pcnd  upon  his  word,  and  ask  of  the  generations  that  are 
past,  who  ever  trusted  in  the  Lord  and  was  confound- 
ed? From  encouragement  he  rose  to  assurance :  Thou 
shalt  yet  praise  him,  notwithstanding  the  present  un- 
promising appearances :  the  God  of  all  consolation  shall 
be  thy  God,  the  health  of  thy  countenance,  and  thy  por- 
tion for  ever. 

14.  "  He  was  very  anxiously  desirous  that  the  voice 
of  joy  and  health  might  be  heard  in  the  dwellings  of  the 
righteous  ;  nor  would  he  be  contented  till  he  could  pre- 
vail upon  the  sorrowful  to  bear  some  harmonious  part 
in  the  work  of  adoration  and  thanksgiving.  But  it  is 
impossible  to  give  a  just  representation  of  the  sweet  and 
condescending  manner  in  which  he  treated  every  spirit- 
ual mourner.  He  would  take  up  their  neglected  harps, 
and  tune  them  to  the  praises  of  redeeming  love.  He 
would  furnish  them  with  a  variety  of  sacred  themes,  and 
solicit  them  at  least  to  attempt  one  of  the  songs  of  Sion. 
And  while  they  lingered,  he  would  sweetly  take  the  lead 
in  celebrating  the  Divine  goodness.  Now  he  recorded 
mercies  past,  and  now  he  recounted  promised  blessings ; 
now  he  sung  the  wonders  of  grace,  and  now  he  pointed 
to  the  mysteries  of  glory.  But  if  it  appeared,  after  all 
these  animating  efforts  on  his  part,  that  the  mourners 
among  his  people  were  unable  to  accompany  him  in  these 
joyful  exercises,  he  would  suddenly  change  his  song  of 
praise  into  a  strain  of  supplication,  and  earnestly  implore 
for  them  the  light  of  His  gracious  countenance  whose 
prerogative  it  is  to  appoint  beauty  for  ashes,  the  oil  of 
joy  for  mourning,  and  the  garments  of  praise  for  the 
spirit  of  heaviness. 

"Thus,  with  all  possible  plainness  and  fidelity,  this 
animated  preacher  administered  the  good  word  of  God 
in  his  day  and  generation,  whether  it  was  a  word  of 
threatening  to  the  careless  and  impenitent,  or  a  word  of 
consolation  to  the  fearful  and  afflicted." 

15.  Yet  notwithstanding  all  the  pains  he  took,  he  saw, 
for  some  time,  little  fruit  of  his  labour :  insomuch  that 
he  was  more  than  once  in  doubt  whether  he  had  not 
mistaken  his  place  ;  whether  God  had  indeed  called  him 
to  confine  himself  chiefly  to  one  town,  or  to  labour  more 
at  large  in  his  vineyard.  He  seems  to  have  been  espe- 
cially harassed  with  doubts  upon  this  subject,  if  at  any 


M 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


time  he  was  weak  in  faith,  and  in  an  uncomfortable  state 
of  mind.  Thus  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  dated 
March  10,  1761,  he  says,  "As  I  read  your  elegy  (on 

Dr.  M  n)  I  could  not  refrain  ray  tears  ;  tears  so  much 

the  more  sweet  as  they  originated  in  a  secret  hope  that 
I  should  one  day  strip  off  the  polluted  rags  of  my  own 
righteousness,  and  put  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  like 
the  Christian  hero  of  your  poem. 

"  I  feel  more  and  more,  that  I  neither  abide  in  Christ, 
nor  Christ  in  me  ;  nevertheless,  I  do  not  so  feel  it  as  to 
seek  him  without  intermission.  O  wretched  man  that  I 
am,  who  shall  deliver  me  from  this  heart  of  unbelief? — 
Blessed  be  God,  who  has  promised  ine  this  deliverance, 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ! 

"A  few  days  ago,  I  was  violently  tempted  to  quit 
Madeley  :  the  spirit  of  Jonah  had  so  seized  upon  my 
heart,  that  I  had  the  insolence  to  murmur  against  the 
Lord  ;  but  the  storm  is  now  happily  calmed,  at  least  for 
a  season.  Alas  !  what  stubbornness  is  there  in  the  will 
of  man  ;  and  with  what  strength  docs  it  combat  the  will 
of  God  under  the  mask  of  piety  when  it  can  no  longer 
do  so  with  the  uncovered  shameless  face  of  vice  !  If  a 
man  bridleth  not  his  tongve,  all  his  outward  religion  is 
vain.  May  we  not  add  to  this  observation  of  St.  James, 
that  if  a  man  bridleth  not  his  will,  which  is  the  language 
of  his  desires,  his  inward  religion  is  vain  also  '.  The 
Lord  does  not,  however,  leave  me  altogether ;  and  I 
have  often  a  secret  hope  that  he  M  ill  one  day  touch  my 
heart  and  my  lips  with  a  live  coal  from  his  altar  ;  and 
that  then  his  word  shall  consume  the  stubble,  and  break 
to  pieces  the  stone." 

Again  a  few  weeks  after  he  writes  to  the  same,  "I 
know  not  what  to  say  to  you  of  the  state  of  my  soul  :  I 
daily  struggle  in  the  slough  of  Despond,  and  I  endeavour 
every  day  to  climb  the  lull  of  Difficulty.  I  need  wis- 
dom, mildness,  and  courage  ;  and  no  man  has  less  of 
them  than  I.  O  Jesus,  my  Saviour,  draw  me  strongly 
to  Him  who  giveth  wisdom  to  all  who  ask  it,  and  up- 
braideth  them  not !  As  to  the  state  of  my  parish,  the 
prospect  is  yet  discouraging.  New  scandals  succeed 
those  that  wear  away  ;  but  offences  must  come  :  happy 
shall  I  be,  if  the  offence  cometh  not  by  me  !" 

16.  He  seems  also  to  have  had  some  scruples  respect- 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


61 


ing  some  expressions  in  the  Church  service  :  alluding 
to  a  passage  in  the  office  for  the  public  baptism  of  in- 
fants, he  observes  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Charles  Wesley, 
September  20,  17G2  :— 

"  Truly  you  are  a  pleasant  casuist.  What !  '  it  hath 
pleased  thee  to  regenerate  this  infant  with  thy  Holy 
Spirit,  to  receive  him  for  thine  own  child  by  adoption, 
and  to  incorporate  him  into  thy  holy  Church.'  Does  all 
this  signify  nothing  more  than  being  taken  into  the  visi- 
ble Church? 

"  How  came  you  to  think  of  my  going  to  leave  Made- 
ley  ?  I  have,  indeed,  had  my  scruples  about  the  above 
passage,  and  some  in  the  burial  service  ;  but  you  may 
dismiss  your  fears,  and  be  assured  I  will  neither  marry, 
nor  leave  my  Church,  without  advising  with  you. 
Adieu.   Your  affectionate  brother,  J.  F." 

17.  Beside  the  uncomfortable  state  in  which  he  some- 
times found  his  soul,  upon  his  first  going  to  Madeley,  he 
was  discouraged  by  the  smallness  of  the  congregations, 
and  the  great  opposition  which  he  met  with  from  per- 
sons of  different  descriptions.  The  first  of  these  causes 
of  discouragement,  however,  was  soon  removed.  Within 
a  year,  it  seems,  of  his  first  settling  there,  he  writes  to 
Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  as  follows  : — 

"  When  I  first  came  to  Madeley  I  was  greatly  morti- 
fied and  discouraged  by  the  smallness  of  my  congrega- 
tions;  and  I  thought  that  if  some  of  our  friends  at  Lon- 
don had  seen  my  little  company,  they  would  have  tri- 
umphed in  their  own  wisdom  ;  but  now,  thank  God, 
things  are  altered  in  that  respect,  and  last  Sunday  I  had. 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  some  in  the  church  yard,  who 
could  not  get  into  the  church.  I  began  a  few  Sundays 
ago  to  preach  in  the  afternoon,  after  catechising  the 
children ;  but  I  do  not  preach  my  own  sermons.  Twice 
I  read  a  sermon  of  Archbishop  Usher's,  and  last  Sunday 
one  of  the  homilies,  taking  the  liberty  to  make  some 
observations  on  such  passages  as  confirmed  what  I  ad- 
vanced in  the  morning,  and  by  this  means  I  stopped  the 
mouths  of  many  adversaries." 

The  church  now,  in  a  little  time,  began  to  be  so  crowd- 
ed that  the  church  wardens,  enemies,  it  seems,  to  God 
and  his  truth,  began  to  speak  of  hindering  strangers 
(persons  of  other  parishes)  from  coming,  and  of  repel- 


68 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


ling  them  from  the  Lord's  Supper.  But  in  these  points 
Mr.  Fletcher  withstood  them.  It  appears,  however,  that 
toward  the  latter  end  of  the  year  the  congregation  began 
rather  to  decline.  For,  October  12,  he  writes  to  the 
same  person : — 

"  My  church  begins  not  to  be  so  well  filled  as  it  has 
been,  and  I  account  for  it  by  the  following  reasons : — 
The  curiosity  of  some  of  my  hearers  is  satisfied,  and 
others  are  offended  by  the  word  ;  the  roads  are  worse,  and 
if  it  should  ever  please  the  Lord  to  pour  his  Spirit  upon 
us,  the  time  is  not  yet  come  ;  for  instead  of  saying,  Let 
us  go  up  together  to  the  house  of  the  Lord,  they  exclaim, 
Why  should  we  go  and  hear  a  Methodist  ?  I  should  lose 
all  patience  with  my  flock,  if  I  had  not  more  reason  to 
be  satisfied  with  them  than  with  myself.  My  own  bar- 
renness furnishes  me  with  excuses  for  theirs  ;  and  I  wait 
the  time  when  God  shall  give  seed  to  the  sower,  and  in- 
crease to  the  seed  sown.  In  waiting  that  time,  I  learn 
the  meaning  of  this  prayer,  Thy  will  be  done !  Believe 
me  your  sincere,  though  unworthy  friend,        J.  F." 

18.  Although  he  did  not  immediately  see  much  fruit 
of  his  labours,  yet  God  soon  gave  him  some  proofs  that 
his  word  was  not  altogether  without  its  desired  effect. 
In  a  letter  written  soon  after  his  going  to  Madelcy,  he 
mentioned  three  persons  who  "  professed  that  they  had 
received  the  consolations  of  Divine  love  under  his  mi- 
nistry :"  but,  says  he,  "  I  wait  for  their  fruits."  Another 
instance  is  mentioned  by  Mr.  Wesley,  which,  it  seems, 
occurred  when  he  was  under  great  discouragement :  "  A 
multitude  of  people  had  flocked  together  at  a  funeral.  < 
He  seldom  let  these  awful  opportunities  slip  without 
giving  a  solemn  exhortation.  At  the  close  of  the  exhort- 
ation which  was  then  given,  one  man  was  so  grievously 
offended  that  he  could  not  refrain  from  breaking  out  into 
scurrilous,  yea,  menacing  language.  But  notwithstand- 
ing all  his  struggling  against  it,  the  word  fastened  upon 
his  heart.  At  first,  indeed,  he  roared  like  a  lion  ;  but  he 
soon  wept  like  a  child.  Not  long  after  he  came  to  Mr. 
Fletcher,  in  the  most  humble  manner  asking  pardon  for 
his  past  outrageous  behaviour,  and  begging  an  interest 
in  his  prayers.  This  was  such  a  refreshment  as  he  stood 
in  need  of;  and  it  was  but  a  short  time  before  the  poor 
broken-hearted  sinner  was  filled  with  joy  unspeakable : 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J,  FLETCHER. 


08 


he  then  spared  no  pains  in  exhorting  his  fellow  sinners 
to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come." 

19.  From  the  beginning  Mr.  Fletcher  did  not  confine 
his  preaching  to  the  church,  nor  his  labours  to  his  own 
parish.  Soon  after  his  going  to  reside  at  Madeley,  we 
find  him  expressing  himself  thus  to  a  friend  in  one  of 
his  letters  :  "  1  have  frequently  had  a  desire  to  exhort  in 
Madeley  Wood,  and  Coalbrook  Dale,  two  villages  of  my 
parish  ;  but  I  have  not  dared  to  run  before  I  saw  an 
open  door :  it  now,  I  think,  begins  to  open,  as  two  small 
societies  of  twenty  persons  have  formed  themselves  in 
those  places." 

To  a  little  society  which  he  gathered  about  six  miles 
from  Madeley,  he  preached  two  or  three  times  a  week, 
beginning  at  live  in  the  morning.  Nay,  for  many  years 
he  regularly  preached  at  places  eight,  or  ten,  or  sixteen 
miles  off;  returning  the  same  night,  though  he  seldom 
got  home  before  one  or  two  in  the  morning. 

20.  In  these,  his  labours  of  love,  however,  although 
undertaken  and  prosecuted  with  the  sole  view  of  glorify- 
ing God,  and  saving  souls  from  death  eternal,  he  met  with 
no  little  opposition  and  persecution.  Indeed  the  highest 
degrees  of  piety  to  God,  or  of  benevolence  to  mankind, 
are  found  insufficient  to  secure  a  man  from  the  reproaches 
of  the  world.  "  On  the  contrary,"  as  Mr.  Gilpin  has 
justly  observed,  "religion  and  virtue,  when  carried  to 
an  extraordinary  pitch  of  excellence,  have  generally  ex- 
posed the  possessors  of  them  to  the  slander  of  malevo- 
lence, and  the  rigours  of  persecution."  Many  were  the 
instances  of  opposition  which  the  enemies  of  God  and 
his  truth  made  to  this  holy  and  benevolent  man  ;  and 
various  were  the  snares  which  they  hi  id  to  entangle  him, 
out  of  all  which,  however,  the  Lord  graciously  deliver- 
ed him,  not  suffering  them  to  hurt  a  hair  of  his  head. 

One  Sunday  evening,  after  performing  the  usual  duty 
at  Madeley,  he  was  about  to  set  out  for  Madeley  Wood 
to  preach  and  catechise  as  usual.  But  just  then  notice 
was  brought  (which  should  have  been  given  before)  that 
a  child  was  to  be  buried.  His  waiting  till  the  child  was 
brought  prevented  his  going  to  the  Wood.  And  herein 
the  providence  of  God  appeared.  For,  at  this  very- 
time,  many  of  the  colliers,  who  neither  feared  God  nor 
regarded  men,  were  baiting  a  bull  just  by  the  place  of 


70 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


preaching.  And  having  had  plenty  of  drink,  they  had 
all  agreed,  as  soon  as  he  came,  to  bait  the  parson.  Part 
of  them  were  appointed  to  pull  him  off  his  horse,  and 
the  rest  to  set  the  dogs  upon  him.  But  in  the  mean 
time  the  bull  broke  loose,  an  l  threw  down  the  booth  in 
which  the  gentlemen  were  drinking,  and  the  people,  fear- 
ing for  themselves  the  evil  they  intended  for  him,  were 
all  dispersed  ;  while  the  serious  friends,  who  had  come 
together  to  hear  him  preach,  were  waiting  for  him  in 
quietness  and  safety. 

21.  But  drunken  colliers  were  not  the  only  persons 
who  opposed  and  persecuted  him.  Several  of  the  gen- 
tlemen, as  they  were  called,  and  even  some  of  the  neigh- 
bouring clergy  and  magistrates,  set  themselves  against 
him  from  the  first ;  but  without  being  able  to  accomplish 
their  purpose.  August  18, 1701,  he  writes  as  follows  to 
Mr.  Charles  Wesley  :— 

"I  do  not  know  whether  I  mentioned  to  you  a  sermon 
preached  at  the  archdeacon's  visitation.  It  was  almost 
all  levelled  at  the  points  which  arc  called  the  doctrines 
of  Methodism,  and  as  the  preacher  is  minister  of  a  pa- 
rish near  mine,  it  is  probable  he  had  me  in  his  eye.  After 
the  sermon  another  clergyman  addressed  me  with  an  air 
of  triumph,  and  demanded  what  answer  I  could  make. 
As  several  of  my  parishioners  were  present,  beside  the 
church  wardens,  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  take  the  matter 
np;  and  I  have  done  so  by  writing  a  long  letter  to  the 
preacher,  in  which  I  have  touched  the  principal  mistakes 
of  liis  discourse  with  as  much  politeness  and  freedom  as 
I  was  able :  but  I  have  as  yet  had  no  answer.  I  could 
have  wished  for  your  advice  before  I  sealed  my  letter ; 
but  as  I  could  not  have  it,  I  have  been  very  cautious, 
intrenching  myself  behind  the  ramparts  of  Scripture,  as 
well  as  those  of  our  homilies  and  articles." 

About  two  months  after  he  writes  to  the  same  friend  : — 
"You  have  always  the  goodness  to  encourage  me,  and 
your  encouragements  are  not  unseasonable  ;  for  discou- 
ragements follow  one  after  another  with  very  little  inter- 
mission. Those  which  are  of  an  inward  nature  are 
sufficiently  known  to  you  ;  but  some  others  are  peculiar 
to  myself,  especially  those  I  have  had  for  eight  days  past 
during  Madelcy  wake.  Seeing  that  I  could  not  suppress 
these  bacchanals,  I  did  all  in  my  power  to  moderate  their 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


n 


madness  ;  but  my  endeavours  have  had  little  or  no  effect; 
the  impotent  dyke  I  opposed  only  made  the  torrent  swell 
and  foam,  without  stopping  its  course.  You  cannot  well 
imagine  how  much  the  animosity  of  my  parishioners  is 
heightened,  and  with  what  boldness  it  discovers  itself 
against  me,  because  I  preach  against  drunkenness,  shows, 
and  bull-baiting.  The  publicans  and  maltmcn  will  not 
forgive  me :  they  think  that  to  preach  against  drunken- 
ness, and  to  cut  their  purse,  is  the  same  thing." 

The  16th  of  May  following,  he  says,  "Since  my  last, 
our  troubles  have  increased.  A  young  man  having  put 
in  force  the  act  for  suppressing  swearing  against  a  pa- 
rish officer,  he  stirred  up  all  the  other  half  gentlemen  to 
remove  him  from  the  parish.  Here  I  interposed,  and  to 
do  so  with  effect,  I  took  the  young  man  into  my  service. 
By  God's  <jrace  I  have  been  enabled  to  conduct  myself 
in  this  mailer  so  as  to  give  them  no  handle  against  me ; 
and  in  spite  of  all  their  cabals,  I  have  got  the  better. 

""What  has  greatly  encouraged  them  is  the  behaviour 
of  a  magistrate,  who  was  at  the  first  inclined  to  favour 
me,  but  afterward  turned  against  me  with  peculiar  ma- 
levolence, and  proceeded  as  far  as  to  threaten  me,  and 
all  my  flock  of  the  Rock  Church,*  with  imprison- 
ment. Hitherto  the  Lord  has  stood  by  me,  and  my  little 
difficulties  are  nothing  to  me;  but  I  fear  I  support  them 
rather  like  a  philosopher  than  a  Christian.  We  were 
to  have  been  mobbed  with  a  drum  last  Tuesday  at  the 
Rock  Church,  but  tbeir  captain,  a  papist,  behaved  him- 
self so  very  ill  that  they  were  ashamed  of  him,  and  are 
made  peaceable  for  the  present.  Ask  of  God  to  give 
me  wisdom,  resolution,  and  love." 

It  appears  by  a  letter  of  his,  written  to  Mr.  Charles 
Wesley  in  July  following,  that  he  presented  the  papist 
above  mentioned  at  the  succeeding  visitation,  although 
without  effect.  "  Three  weeks  ago  (says  he)  I  went  to 
Ludlow  to  the  bishop's  visitation,  and  I  thought  the  occa- 
sion favourable  for  my  purpose :  but  the  church  wardens, 
when  we  were  upon  the  spot,  refused  to  support  me,  and 
the  court  has  paid  no  regard  to  my  presentation.  Thus 
I  have  .rained  some  experience,  though  at  my  own  cost. 

*  The  Rock  Church  were  a  company  of  well  disposed  people, 
who  assembled  for  hen  ring  the  word,  and  prayer,  at  a  small  house 
built  upon  a  rock,  in  Madeley  Wood. 


78 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


The  sermon  did  not  touch  the  string  with  which  I  was 
whipped  the  last  visitation,  and  I  afterward  had  the  bold- 
ness to  go  and  dine  with  the  bishop. 

"Many  of  my  parishioners  are  strangely  disconcerted 
at  my  bringing  my  gown  back  from  Ludlow.  [They 
thought  the  bishop  would  have  stripped  him  of  it.]  With 
respect  to  the  magistrate  I  mentioned,  who,  because  he 
acted  as  judge  of  the  circuit  two  years  ago,  believes  him- 
self as  able  a  lawyer  as  Judge  Foster;  he,  for  the  pre- 
sent, contents  himself  with  threatenings.  I  met  him  the 
other  day,  and  after  he  had  called  me  Jesuit,  <fcc,  and 
menaced  me  with  his  cane,  he  assured  me  again  that  he 
would  soon  put  down  our  assemblies.  How  ridiculous 
is  this  impotent  rage  ! 

"  I  have  attempted  to  form  a  society,  and  in  spite  of 
much  opposition  and  many  difficulties,  I  hope,  by  God's 
grace,  to  succeed.  I  preach,  I  exhort,  I  pray,  &,c,  but 
as  yet  I  seem  to  have  cast  the  net  on  the  wrong  side  of 
the  ship.  Lord  Jesus,  come  thyself,  and  furnish  me 
with  a  Divine  commission  !  For  some  months  past  I 
have  laboured  under  an  insuperable  drowsiness  ;  I  could 
sleep  day  and  night ;  and  the  hours  which  I  ought  to 
employ  with  Christ  on  the  mountain  I  spend  like  Peter 
in  the  garden."  Thus  we  see  this  man  of  God  was  not 
without  his  infirmities.    But  these  he  always  magnified. 

22.  As  the  reader  will  probably  wish  to  see  a  little 
farther  account  of  this  persecution,  and  of  the  behaviour 
of  this  good  man  under  it,  I  shall  insert  here  also  an 
extract  from  another  letter.  In  August  of  the  same 
year  (1762)  he  writes  as  follows  to  the  same  friend,  in 
whom  he  always  put  entire  confidence  : — 

"  I  have  received  your  last,  and  I  rejoice  that  Dr. 
Turner,  by  whose  skill  the  Lord  once  brought  me  up 
from  the  grave,  has  undertaken  your  cure.  May  he 
have  the  same  success  with  you  that  he  had  with  me  ; 
but,  be  that  as  it  will,  our  comfort  is  to  know  that  God 
will  do  all  for  the  best. 

"  I  have  still  trials  of  all  sorts.  First,  Spiritual  ones. 
My  heart  is  hard  :  I  have  not  that  contrition,  that  filial 
fear,  that  sweet,  humble  melting  of  heart  before^lhe 
Lord,  which  I  consider  as  essential  to  spiritual  Chris- 
tianity. 

"  Secondly,  The  opposition  made  to  my  ministry 


LIFE  OF  KEV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


78 


increases.  A  young  clergyman  who  lives  in  Madeley 
Wood,  where  he  has  great  influence,  has  openly  declared 
war  against  me,  by  pasting  on  the  church  door  a  paper, 
in  which  he  charges  me  with  rebellion,  schism,  and 
being  a  disturber  of  the  public  peace.  He  puts  himself 
at  the  head  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  parish,  (as  they  term 
themselves.)  and  supported  by  the  recorder  of  Wenlock, 
he  is  determined  to  put  in  force  the  Conventicle  Act 
against  me.  A  few  weeks  ago,  the  widow  who  lives  in 
the  Rock  church,  and  a  young  man  who  read  and 
prayed  in  my  absence,  were  taken  up.  I  attended  them 
before  the  justice,  and  the  young  clergyman  with  his 
troop  were  present.  They  called  me  Jesuit,  &c,  and 
the  justice  tried  to  frighten  me  by  saying  '  that  he  would 
put  the  act  in  force,  though  we  should  assemble  only  in 
inv  own  house.'  I  pleaded  my  cause  as  well  as  I  could; 
but  seeinir  he  was  determined  to  hear  no  reason,  I  told 
him  'he  must  do  as  he  pleased,  and  that  if  the  act  in 
question  concerned  us,  we  were  ready  to  suffer  all  its 
rigours.'  In  his  rage  he  went  the  next  day  to  Wenlock, 
and  proposed  to  grant  a  warrant  to  have  me  appre- 
hended ;  but,  as  the  other  justices  were  of  opinion  that 
the  business  did  not  come  under  their  cognizance,  but 
belonged  to  the  spiritual  court,  he  was  obliged  to  swal- 
low his  spittle  alone.  The  church  wardens  talk  of  put- 
ting me  in  the  spiritual  court,  for  meeting  in  houses,  <fcc. 
But  what  is  worst  of  all,  three  false  witnesses  offer  to 
prove  upon  oath  that  I  am  a  liar  ;  and  some  of  my  fol- 
lowers (as  they  are  called)  have  dishonoured  their  pro- 
fession, to  the  great  joy  of  our  adversaries. 

"  In  the  midst  of  these  difficulties  I  have  reason  to 
bless  the  Lord  that  my  heart  is  not  troubled.  Forget 
me  not  in  your  prayers.    Yours,  J.  F.'' 

23.  Such  was  a  part,  and  but  a  very  small  part,  of  the 
opposition  which,  from  time  to  time,  for  many  years,  he 
met  with.  u  His  situation,  with  respect  to  the  unworthy- 
part  of  his  parishioners,"  says  Mr.  Gilpin,  "was  similar 
to  the  situation  of  Daniel,  with  respect  to  the  Babylonish 
courtiers  :  his  whole  conduct  was  so  admirably  regulated 
by  circumspection  and  prudence,  that  malice  itself  could 
find  no  occasion  against  him,  except  concerning  the  law 
of  his  God.  The  voluptuary  detested  his  temperance  and 
self-denial ;  the  man  of  pride  poured  contempt  upon  his 


74 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


humility  and  condescension  ;  the  licentious  were  offended 
at  his  gravity  and  strictness  ;  and  the  formal  were  roused 
to  indignation  by  that  spirit  of  zeal  and  devotion  which 
influenced  his  whole  conversation  and  conduct.  All  of 
these,  however  they  might  differ  among  themselves,  were 
leagued  together  as  the  inveterate  enemies  of  this  vene- 
rable pastor.  They  wrested  his  words,  they  misrepre- 
sented his  actions,  and  cast  out  his  name  as  evil.  But, 
whatever  he  was  called  to  suffer  from  the  malice  and 
opposition  of  Ins  enemies,  he  endured  it  with  the  ut- 
most magnanimity  and  composure,  not  rendering  evil 
for  evil,  or  railing- for  railing ;  but  contrariwise,  bless- 
ing. While  some  indignant  professors  are  ready,  with 
James  and  John,  to  command  fire  from  heaven  for  the 
destruction  of  their  opposes:  and  while  others  are 
inquiring  with  Peter,  how  often  they  are  to  meet  their 
offending  brethren  with  unfeigned  forgiveness,  he  gave 
himself  an  example  of  that  uncommon  charity  which 
'  suffereth  long,  and  is  kind  ;  which  is  not  easily  pro- 
voked, and  thinketh  no  evil.  When  he  was  reviled,  he 
reviled  not  again ;  when  he  suffered,  he  threatened 
not;  but  committed  himself  to  Him  that  judgeth  right- 
eously.' 

"  Whether  he  was  insulted  in  his  person,  or  injured 
in  his  property  ;  whether  he  was  attacked  with  open 
abuse,  or  pursued  by  secret  calumny  ;  through  the  tes- 
timony of  a  good  conscience,  he  walked  amid  the  most 
violent  assaults  of  his  enemies,  as  a  man  completely  in- 
vulnerable ;  and  while  his  firmness  discovered  that  he 
was  unhurt,  his  forbearance  testified  that  he  was  unof- 
fended.  His  love  was  truly  unconquerable  :  the  cold 
waters  of  disrespect  could  not  quench  it,  neither  could 
floods  of  reproach  drown  it.  Being  reviled,  he  blessed ; 
being  persecuted,  he  suffered  it ;  being  defamed,  he 
entreated ;  provoking  his  enemies  by  every  affectionate 
method  to  love  and  good  works.  Whenever  he  dis- 
cerned a  virtue  in  the  character  of  an  adversary,  he  com- 
mended it,  he  magnified  it,  he  rejoiced  over  it,  and 
endeavoured  to  make  it  a  medium  of  reconciliation. 
Whenever  he  discovered  an  enemy  in  distress,  he  hast- 
ened to  meet  him  with  tokens  of  generosity  and  kind- 
ness ;  if  he  hungered,  he  fed  him  ;  if  he  thirsted,  he 
gave  him  drink ;  if  he  was  oppressed,  he  maintained 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


75 


his  cause  ;  if  his  lieart  was  brought  down  through  heavi- 
ness, he  endeavoured  to  support  and  console  him ;  em- 
bracing, with  thankfulness,  every  possible  opportunity 
of  heaping'  coals  of  fire  on  his  head." 

21.  It  must  be  observed  here,  however,  that  the  oppo- 
sition which  some  of  his  parishioners  and  others  made 
to  him,  was  of  that  nature,  that  he  was  constrained,  al- 
though reluctant,  to  denounce  upon  them  the  judgments 
of  God,  and  to  warn  them,  if  they  did  not  repent,  God 
would  speedily  cut  them  off.  And  the  truth  of  these 
predictions,  as  I  may  not  improperly  term  them,  was 
shown  over  and  over  by  their  signal  accomplishment. 
January  13th,  176G,  he  wrote  to  a  friend  as  follows: — 

'•  This  evening  I  have  buried  one  of  the  warmest  op- 
posers  of  my  ministry,  a  stout,  strong  young  man,  aged 
twenty-four  years.  About  three  months  ago,  he  came  to 
the  church  yard  with  a  corpse,  but  refused  to  come  into 
the  church.  When  the  burial  was  over,  I  went  to  him 
and  mildly  expostulated  with  him.  His  constant  answer 
was, '  that  he  had  bound  himself  never  to  come  to  church 
while  I  was  there  ;  adding  that  he  would  take  the  con- 
sequeuces,  &c.'  Seeing  I  got  nothing,  I  left  him,  say- 
ing with  uncommon  warmth,  (though  as  far  as  I  can 
remember  without  the  least  touch  of  resentment,)  'I  am 
clear  of  your  blood ;  henceforth  it  is  upon  your  own 
head  ;  you  will  not  come  to  church  upon  your  legs,  pre- 
pare to  come  upon  your  neighbours'  shoulders.''  He 
wasted  from  that  time,  and  to  my  great  surprise  hath 
been  buried  on  the  spot  where  we  were  when  the  con- 
versation passed  between  us.  When  I  visited  him  in  his 
sickness,  he  seemed  tame  as  a  wolf  in  a  trap.  O  may 
God  have  turned  him  into  a  sheep  in  his  last  hours  !" 

25.  Many  other  instances  might  be  produced,  if  need 
were,  of  God's  confirming  the  word  of  his  servant,  and 
many  were  the  indisputable  proofs  which  were  given  in 
the  parish  and  vicinity  of  Madeley,  that  the  weapons  of 
this  eminent  minister's  warfare  were  mighty  through 
God  to  the  pulling  down  of  strong  holds.  Indeed,  as 
de  attacked  sin  in  public  and  in  private,  under  all  its 
wonderful  variety  of  appearances ;  so  he  never  quitted 
the  charge  till  he  had  either  subdued  or  put  it  to  shame. 
(Jnawed  either  by  numbers  or  by  power,  he  was  superior 
to  all  the  opposition  that  could  be  raised  against  him; 


78 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


and  it  may  be  confidently  asserted  that  no  man  was  able 
to  stand  before  him  all  the  days  of  his  life.  That  he 
had  enemies  who  were  never  subdued,  will  readily  be 
granted  :  but  that  any  of  those  enemies  were  hardy 
enough  openly  to  encounter  him,  is  absolutely  denied. 
The  despisers  of  religion  considered  him  as  a  man  of 
an  undaunted  spirit  in  the  cause  of  God;  and  the  most 
daring  among  them,  at  the  whisper  of  his  approach, 
would  seek  the  nearest  shelter  to  screen  themselves  from 
his  deserved  rebuke. 

26.  The  weapon  by  which  he  was  enabled  to  perform 
the  most  memorable  of  his  public  services,  was  that  sa- 
cred word  which  is  emphatically  called  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit.  In  the  exercise  of  this  two-edged  instrument 
he  was  expert  beyond  description,  turning  it  every  way 
for  the  defence  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  overthrow  of  its 
opposers.  With  this  he  cut  in  pieces  all  the  snares  of 
the  wicked,  and  with  this  he  struck  at  the  deepest  root 
©f  sin.  With  this  he  divided  asunder  soul  and  spirit, 
joints  and  marrow ;  and  wherever  he  aimed  the  deter- 
mined blow,  it  was  impossible  for  all  the  address  of  the 
sinner  effectually  to  ward  it  off.  Upon  this  he  chiefly 
depended  for  the  success  of  his  ministry,  as  the  only 
weapon  by  which  he  could  ever  hope  to  penetrate 
through  tiie  prejudices  of  his  people,  and  subdue  their 
aversion  to  the  glorious  Gospel.  While  others  are 
anxious  to  charm  their  hearers  with  "the  studied  orna- 
ments of  artificial  eloquence,"  his  first  care  was,  in  sim- 
plicity and  godly  sincerity,  to  declare  the  truth  as  it  is 
in  Jesus.  Had  he  aimed  at  celebrity  as  a  public  speak- 
er, furnished  as  he  was  with  all  the  united  powers  of 
learning,  genius,  and  taste,  he  might  have  succeeded  be- 
yond many  who  are  engaged  in  so  insignificant  a  pur- 
suit. But  his  design  was  to  convert,  and  not  to  capti- 
vate h;s  hearers ;  to  secure  their  eternal  interests,  and 
not  obtain  their  momentary  applause.  Hence,  his  speech 
and  his  preaching  was  not  with  enticing  words  of  man's 
wisdom,  hit  in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  of 
power.  He  spake  as  in  the  presence  of  God,  and  taught 
as  one  having  Divine  authority.  There  was  an  energy 
in  his  preaching  that  was  irresistible.  His  subjects,  his 
language,  his  gestures,  the  tone  of  his  voice,  and  the 
turn  of  his  countenance,  all  conspired  to  fix  the  atten- 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


tion  and  affect  the  heart.  Without  aiming  at  sublimity, 
he  was  truly  sublime;  and  uncommonly  eloquent  with- 
out affecting  the  orator. 

27.  "  He  was  wondrously  skilled  in  adapting  himself 
to  the  different  capacities  and  conditions  of  his  hearers. 
He  could  stoop  to  the  illiterate,  and  rise  with  the  learn- 
ed ;  he  had  incontrovertible  arguments  for  the  skeptic, 
and  powerful  persuasives  for  the  listless  believer ;  he  had 
sharp  remonstrance  for  the  obstinate,  and  strong  con- 
solation for  the  mourner  :  and,  like  a  scribe,  thoroughly 
instructed  unto  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  he  brought  forth 
out  of  his  treasures  things  new  and  old,  as  occasion  re- 
quired. To  hear  him  without  admiration  was  impossible ; 
without  profit,  improbable.  The  unthinking  went  from 
his  presence  under  the  influence  of  serious  impressions, 
and  the  obdurate  with  kindled  relentings.  Many  an 
unsuspecting  trifler  has  he  enclosed  in  the  Gospel  net, 
and  many  a  happy  captive  has  he  led,  in  the  course  of 
his  public  ministry,  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from, 
the  power  of  Satan  to  God.  I  shall  here  transcribe  a 
short  passage  from  a  letter  addressed  to  me  by  one  of 
the  author's  esteemed  friends.  4 1  would  rather  have 
heard,'  says  the  writer,  '  one  sermon  from  Mr.  Fletcher, 
viva  voce,  than  read  a  volume  of  his  works.  His  words 
were  clothed  wilh  power,  and  entered  with  effect.  His 
writings  are  arrayed  in  all  the  garb  of  human  literature. 
But  his  living  word  soared  on  eagles'  flight  above  human- 
ity. He  basked  in  the  sun,  carried  his  young  ones  on 
his  wings,  and  seized  the  prey  for  his  Master.  In  short, 
his  preaching  was  apostolic;  while  his  writings,  though 
enlightened,  are  but  human.''  " 

28.  But  however  quick,  penetrating,  and  powerful,  his 
word  in  general  was,  Mr.  Fletcher  was  accustomed  "to 
place  his  chief  glory  and  pleasure  in  spreading  abroad 
the  benedictions  of  the  Gospel.  He  considered  the 
ministration  of  mercy  as  abundantly  more  glorious  than 
the  ministration  of  condemnation,  and  was  disposed  to 
magnify  it  as  such  upon  all  occasions.  Experiencing™ 
his  own  heart  the  inestimable  effects  of  mercy,  he  was 
anxious  that  all  men  should  be  partakers  of  his  joy :  attd 
whenever  he  was  engaged  in  pointing  out  the  source  of 
that  mercv,  its  nature,  its  design,  or  the  different  degree 
of  its  manifestation,  he  was  then  engaged  in  an  employ- 


78 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


ment  peculiarly  suited  both  to  his  inclination  and  his 
state.  These  were  subjects  upon  which  he  delighted  to 
dwell,  and  upon  which  lie  had  astonishing  things  to  of- 
fer. His  disposition  to  universal  benevolence  was  con- 
spicuous through  the  whole  of  his  spiritual  progress,  but 
especially  in  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  when  his  heart 
was  as  a  vessel  running  over  with  Christian  charity.  As 
the  holy  ointment  ran  down  from  the  head  of  Aaron  to 
the  very  skirts  of  his  clothing,  so  the  charity  of  this  ex- 
emplary pastor  descended  to,  and  embraced  the  very 
least  and  lowest  of  the  human  race.  Wherever  the 
smallest  religious  desire  was  expressed,  he  pronounced 
a  blessing  upon  it ;  and  wherever  the  weakest  endeavour 
after  spiritual  attainments  was  discoverable,  he  encou- 
raged it  with  his  congratulations,  and  strengthened  it  with 
his  prayers:  nay,  wherever  impiety  opposed  him  under 
its  most  malignant  appearances,  he  met  it  with  mingled 
commiseration  and  hope.  Like  a  faithful  imitator  of 
the  blessed  Jesus,  he  came  preaching  -peace,  and  breath- 
ing the  most  undissembled  good  will  to  all  around  him. 
Like  his  beneficent  Master,  he  went  about  either  doing, 
01  seeking  to  do  good,  in  every  possible  way  ;  and  where- 
cver  he  came,  he  appeare'd  like  some  superior  being, 
whose  sole  employment  was  to  benefit  and  bless  the 
children  of  men.  In  those  houses  where  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  peace  were  found,  he  was  welcomed  as  a 
messenger  of  the  most  joyful  tidings,  and  honoured  as 
an  ambassador  of  Jesus  Christ.  These  happy  families 
submitted  with  joy  to  his  paternal  authority,  and  con- 
sidered his  pastoral  visits  as  an  invaluable  privilege. 
They  looked  upon  their  houses  as  consecrated  by  his 
prayers,  and  received  his  benedictions  with  reverence 
and  gratitude." 

29.  It  is  justly  observed,  farther,  by  the  same  reverend 
and  pious  author,  that  "  the  weak  and  the  wavering  have, 
in  every  age,  outnumbered  the  vigorous  and  unshaken 
professors  of  Christianity.  Mr.  Fletcher  beheld  in  his 
day,  with  inexpressible  concern,  the  increasing  class  of 
such  unsteady  believers :  but,  while  he  bewailed  their 
instability,  he  allowed  them  an  ample  share  of  his  affec- 
tion. Far  from  despising  the  day  of  small  things,  he 
laboured  with  the  most  affectionate  solicitude  to  strength- 
en  the  weak  hand,  and  confirm  the  feeble  knee  of  every 


UFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


79 


wavering  professor.  His  anxiety  for  their  advancement 
in  grace  was  discovered  in  every  possible  way,  and  his 
whole  deportment  toward  them  was  marked  with  unusual 
tenderness  and  regard.  He  followed  them  with  unwea- 
ried attention  till  he  could  discover  the  particular  causes 
of  their  spiritual  decay  ;  aud  when  these  were  once 
ascertained,  he  employed  the  most  laborious  efforts  for 
their  removal.  He  carefully  acquainted  himself  with 
the  peculiar  circumstances  and  disposition  of  the  unsta- 
ble party,  skilfully  adapting  both  his  language  and  hLs 
manner  to  the  nature  of  their  past  attainments  and  their 
present  deficiencies.  He  argued  against  their  fears,  he 
satisfied  their  doubts,  he  bewailed  their  lukewarmness, 
and  reminded  them  of  their  privileges  ;  entreating  or 
rebuking,  consoling  or  censuring  them,  with  ail  long- 
suffering.  In  the  meantime  he  not  only  avoided,  in  his 
own  conduct,  whatever  might  have  a  tendency  to  offend 
or  unsettle  their  minds,  but  admonished  the  stronger 
brethren  to  maintain  toward  their  feeble  companions  a 
carriage  regulated  by  more  than  ordinary  circumspec- 
tion and  kindness. 

"Thus,  after  having  used  every  generous  endeavour 
for  the  restoration  of  the  weak,  and  after  having  removed 
every  apparent  obstacle  from  their  path,  in  the  spirit  of 
supplication  aud  prayer  he  would  watch  for  their  return. 
And  wherever  he  perceived  i«  them  the  fLret  indications 
of  a  holy  resolution,  it  cannot  he  told  with  what  melt- 
ings of  heart  he  would  fly  to  embrace  them  ;  how  gra- 
ciously he  would  condescend  to  their  weakness,  how 
carefully  he  would  support  their  steps,  and  with  how 
much  affectionate  counsel  he  would  <ruide  them  in  the 
way.  On  these  occasions,  especially,  he  put  on  bowels 
of  mercies,  kindness,  humbleness  of  mind,  meekness, 
and  forbearance,  exhibiting  through  his  whole  conduct 
a  lovely  imitation  of  that  great  Shepherd  who  gathers 
the  lambs  with  his  arm,  and  gently  leads  those  that  are 
with  young." 

30.  As  a  specimen  of  the  manner  in  which  he  ad- 
dressed the  weak  in  faith,  I  shall  here  lay  before  my 
readers  an  extract  from  some  of  his  letters  written  about 
this  time.  To  Mr.  Vaughan,  Sept.  4, 1762,  he  says,  "I 
rejoice  that  you  inquire  where  Christ  maketh  his  flock 
to  rest  at  noou.    The  xest  from  the  guilt  and  power  of 


80  LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 

sin  you  will  find  only  in  inward  holiness:  and  tins  I 
apprehend  to  consist  in  what  St.  Paul  calls  the  kingdom 
of  God — righteousness,  which  excludes  all  guilt  ;  peace, 
which  banishes  all  fear  that  hath  torment;  and  joy, 
which  can  no  more  subsist  with  doubts,  anxiety,  and 
unstableness  of  mind,  than  light  can  subsist  with  dark- 
ness. That  there  is  a  state  wherein  this  kingdom  is  set 
up,  firmly  set  up  in  the  heart,  you  may  see  by  onr  Lord's 
sermon  on  the  mount,  by  his  priestly  prayer  in  St. 
John's  gospel,  chap,  xvii,  by  the  epistle  of  that  apostle, 
and  various  parts  of  the  epistles  of  St.  Paul  and  St. 
James. 

"  To  aim  aright  at  this  liberty  of  the  children  of  God 
requires  a  continual  acting  of  faith — of  a  naked  faith  in 
a  naked  promise  or  declaration,  such  as,  'The  Son  of 
God  was  manifested  to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil : — 
The  law  of  the  spirit  of  life,  in  Christ  Jesus,  hath  made 
me  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death  :- — I  can  do  all 
things,  through  Christ,  who  strengthened  me.'  By  a 
naked  faith  in  a  naked  promise,  I  do  not  mean  a  bare 
assent  that  God  is  faithful,  and  that  such  a  promise  in 
the  book  of  God  may  be  fulfilled  in  me  ;  but  a  bold, 
hearty,  steady  venturing  of  my  soul,  body,  and  spirit, 
upon  the  truth  of  the  promise,  with  an  appropriating 
act.  It  is  mine,  because  I  am  a  penitent  sinner ;  and 
I  am  determined  to  believe,  come  what  will.  Here  you 
must  stop  the  ear  of  the  mind  to  the  suggestions  of  the 
serpent;  which,  were  you  to  reason  wi',h  him,  would 
be  endless,  and  would  soon  draw  you  out  of  the  simple 
way  of  that  faith  by  which  we  are  both  justified  and 
sanctified. 

"  You  must  also  remember  that  it  is  your  privilege  to 
go  to  Christ  by  such  a  faith  now,  and  every  succeeding 
moment :  and  that  you  are  to  bring  nothing  but  a  dis- 
tracted, tossed,  hard  heart ;  just  such  a  one  as  you  have 
now.  Here  lies  the  grand  mistake  of  many  poor  but 
precious  souls  :  they  are  afraid  to  believe,  lest  it  should 
be  presumption,  because  they  have  not  as  yet  comfort, 
joy,  love,  &c.  :  not  considering  that  this  is  to  look  for 
fruit  before  the  tree  be  planted.  Beware,  then,  of  look- 
ing for  any  peace  or  joy  previous  to  your  believing  ; 
and  let  this  be  uppermost  in  your  mind. 

V  The  Lord  make  you  wise  as  a  serpent,  and  harm 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


81 


less  as  the  loving  dove  ;  but  beware  of  the  serpent's 
food,  dust;  and  the  dove's  bane,  birdlime,  I  mean  worldly 
cares.  O,  my  friend,  what  is  the  world  ? — A  flying 
shadow.  As  we  fly  through  it,  let  us  lose  ourselves  in 
the  eternal  substance.    Farewell  in  the  Lord.  Yours, 

"J.  F." 

Two  months  after,  he  writes  thus  to  Miss  Hatton  : — 
*'  I  thank  you  for  the  confidence  you  repose  in  the  ad- 
vice of  a  poor  fellow  sinner  :  may  the  Father  of  lights 
direct  you  through  so  vile  an  instrument!  If  you  build 
all  your  hopes  of  heaven  upon  Jesus  Christ  in  all  his 
offices,  you  do  not  build  without  a  foundation,  but  upon 
the  true  one. 

"  That  there  is  a  seal  of  pardon,  and  an  earnest  of  our 
inheritance  above,  which  you  are  as  yet  a  stranger  to, 
seems  clear  from  the  tenor  of  your  letter ;  but  had  I 
been  in  the  place  of  the  gentleman  you  mention,  I  would 
have  endeavoured  to  lay  it  before  you  as  the  fruit  of 
faith,  and  a  most  glorious  privilege,  rather  than  as  the 
root  of  faith,  and  a  thing  absolutely  necessary  to  the 
being  of  it. 

"I  be'ieve  many  people  know  when  they  receive 
faith,  and  all  people,  when  they  receive  the  seal  of  their 
pardon.  When  they  believe  in  Christ,  they  are  justified 
in  the  sight  of  God  ;  and  when  they  are  sealed  by  the 
Spirit,  they  are  fully  assured  of  that  justification  in  their 
own  conscience.  Some  receive  faith,  and  the  seal  of 
their  pardon,  in  the  same  instant,  as  the  jailer,  <fec.  ;  but 
others  receive  faith  first,  as  the  dying  thief,  the  woman 
of  Canaan,  David,  the  people  of  Samaria,  Acts  viii,  12- 
16,  and  the  faithful  at  Ephesus,  Eph.  i,  13.  Suppose, 
then,  God  gave  you  faith,  i.  e.,  a  hearty  trust  in  the 
blood  of  Christ,  and  a  sincere  closing  with  him,  as  your 
righteousness  and  your  all,  while  you  received  the 
sacrament,  (which  seems  to  me  very  probable,  by  the 
account  vou  give  me,)  your  way  is  exceeding  plain  be- 
fore you.  Hold  fast  your  confidence,  but  do  not  rest 
in  it;  trust  in  Christ,  and  remember  he  says,  I  am  the 
way ;  not  for  you  to  stop,  but  to  run  on  in  him.  Re- 
joice to  hear  that  there  is  a  full  assurance  of  faith  to  be 
obtained  by  the  seal  of  God's  Spirit,  and  go  on  from 
faith  to  faith,  until  you  are  possessed  of  it.  But  re- 
member this,  and  let  this  double  advice  prevent  your 
4» 


82 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


straying  to  the  right  or  left : — First,  That  you  will  hare 
reason  to  suspect  the  sincerity  of  your  zeal,  if  you  lie 
down  easy  without  the  seal  of  your  pardon,  and  the  full 
assurance  of  faith.  Secondly,  While  you  wait  for  that 
seal  in  all  the  means  of  grace,  beware  of  being  unthank- 
ful for  the  least  degree  of  faith  and  confidence  in  Jesus  ; 
beware  of  burying  one  talent  because  you  have  not  five  ; 
beware  of  despising  the  grain  of  mustard  seed,  because 
it  is  not  yet  a  tree. 

"  May  the  Lord  teach  you  the  middle  path  between 
resting  short  of  the  happiness  of  '  making  your  calling 
and  election  sure,''  and  supposing  you  are  neither  called 
nor  chosen,  and  that  God  hath  not  yet  truly  begun  his 
good  work  in  you.  You  can  never  be  too  bold  in  be- 
lieving, provided  you  still  aspire  after  new  degrees  of 
faith,  and  do  not  use  your  faith  as  a  cloak  for  sin.  The 
Lord  despises  not  the  day  of  small  things;  only  beware 
of  resting  in  small  things.  And  look  for  the  seal  and 
abiding  witness  of  God's  Spirit,  according  to  the  follow- 
ing direction  : — 

'  Restless,  resign'd,  for  this  I  wait, 

For  this  my  vehement  soul  stands  still.' 
As  to  deep  sights  of  the  evil  of  sin,  the  more  you  go  on, 
the  more  you  will  see  Christ  exceeding  lovely,  and  sin 
exceeding  sinful :  therefore,  look  up  to  Jesus,  as  a  vile 
and  helpless  sinner,  pleading  his  promises:  this  is  going 
on,  and  trust  him  for  the  rest. 

"  With  respect  to  myself,  in  many  conflicts  and  troubles 
of  soul,  I  have  consulted  many  masters  of  the  spiritual 
life,  but  Divine  mercy  did  not,  does  not  suffer  me  to  rest 
upon  the  word  of  a  fellow  creature.  The  best  advices 
have  often  increased  my  perplexities ;  and  the  end  was 
to  make  me  cease  from  human  dependence,  and  wait 
upon  God  from  the  dust  of  self-despair.  To  him,  there- 
fore, I  desire  to  point  you  and  myself,  in  the  person  of 
Jesus  Christ.  This  incarnate  God  receives  weary,  per- 
plexed sinners  still,  and  gives  them  solid  rest.  He  teaches 
as  no  man  ever  taught ;  his  words  have  spirit  and  life  ; 
nor  can  he  possibly  mistake  our  case.  I  am,  madam, 
your  fellow  servant  in  the  patience  and  kingdom  of 
Jesus,  J.  F." 

To  the  same  person  he  says  in  another  letter,  dated 
January  28th,  1763,  "I  share  in  the  joy  which  your 


LIKE  OF  RET.  J.  FLETCHER. 


63 


deliverance  from  your  late  trials  gives  to  those  who 
shared  in  your  perplexity.  Heav  iness  may  endure  for 
a  night,  but  gladness  cometh  in  the  morning  ;  and  when 
it  comes  after  a  long  uneasy  night,  it  is  doubly  welcome, 
and  deserves  a  double  tribute  of  praises.  O  be  not  want- 
ing in  that  sweet  duty  ! — I  mean  praising  from  a  sense 
of  the  Divine  goodness,  love,  and  patience  toward  us. 
Remember  that  you  are  brought  from  darkness  to  light, 
to  show  forth  the  praises  of  Him  who  calleth  you  ;  and 
that  your  feet  are  set  at  liberty  for  you  to  run  with 
patience  the  race  of  prayer  and  praise,  self-denial  and 
obedience,  which  the  Lord  hath  set  before  you. 

'•  Would  you  go  on  comfortably  and  steadily  for  the 
time  to  come,  beg  of  the  Lord  to  give  you  grace  to  ob- 
serve the  following  advice.  1.  Live  above  earthly  and 
creature  comforts.  2.  Beware  of  flatness  and  luke- 
warmness:  this,  if  not  carried  immediately  to  the  Lord, 
ends  often  in  darkness  and  deadness.  3.  Value  Divine 
comforts  above  all  things,  and  prize  Christ  above  all 
comforts,  that  if  they  should  fail,  you  may  still  glory  in 
the  God  of  your  salvation.  4.  Let  that  which  torments 
others  make  your  happiness — I  mean  self-denial  and 
renouncing  your  own  will.  5.  Be  ready  to  yield  with 
joy  to  every  conviction  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Be  faith- 
ful to  present  grace,  and  aspire  after  a  continual  growth. 
6.  Live  the  present  moment  to  God,  and  avoid  perplex- 
ing yourself  about  your  past  or  future  experience  :  by 
giving  up  yourself  to  Christ,  as  you  are,  and  being  will- 
ing to  receive  him  now,  as  he  is,  leaving  all  the  rest  to 
him,  you  will  cut  up  a  thousand  temptations  by  the 
roots."*' 

A  few  weeks  after,  he  adds,  "I  am  glad  you  persist  in 
takiiiir  up  your  cross,  and  following  the  Captain  of  our 
salvation.  You  must  expect  many  difficulties  :  some  of 
your  greatest  trials  may  come  from  your  dearest  friends 
without,  and  your  nearest  part  within.  I  have  always 
found  it  profitable  to  expect  the  worst,  for  a  temptation 
foreseen  is  half  overcome.  Let  us  count  the  cost  daily, 
and  learn  to  value  all  outward  things  as  dung  and  dross, 
that  we  may  win  Christ. 

"  My  heart  is  at  present  full  of  an  advice  which  I  have 
just  given,  with  some  success,  to  the  Israelites  in  the 
wilderness  ab  ut  this  place: — Spend,  in  'feeling  after 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


Christ,  by  the  prayer  of  such  faith  as  you  have,  whether 
it  be  dark  or  luminous,  the  time  you  have  hitherto  spent 
in  desponding  thoughts,  in  perplexing  considerations 
upon  the  badness  or  uncertainty  of  your  state,  and  come 
now  to  the  Lord  Jesus  with  your  present  wants,  daring 
to  believe  that  he  waits  to  be  gracious  to  you.'  Christ 
is  the  way,  the  highway  to  the  Father,,  and  a  highway 
is  as  free  for  a  sickly  beggar  as  a  glorious  prince.  If  it 
be  suggested,  '  You  are  too  presumptuous  to  intrude 
without  ceremony  upon  Him  that  is  glorious  in  holi- 
ness, and  fearful  in  praises,'  answer  in  looking  up  to 
Jesus : — 

1  Be  it  I  myself  deceive,  yet  I  must,  I  must  believe.' 
"  I  am  with  sincerity,  &c,  J.  F." 

In  August  his  words  to  this  lady  are,  "  I  am  heartily 
glad  to  find  that  your  heart  is  set  upon  obtaining  the  one 
thing  needful,  Christ  in  us,  with  all  his  graces,  the  hope 
of  glory.  I  beg,  in  my  Master's  name,  you  would 
cherish  the  conviction  of  the.  need  of  this  prize  of  your 
high  calling,  and  pursue  it  in  the  new  and  living  way  in 
which  the  fathers  trod,  that  of  the  cross,  and  that  of 
faith.  We  travel  in  the  first,  by  continually  denying 
ourselves  in  the  desire  of  the  flesh,  the  desire  of  the 
eye,  and  the  pride  of  life  ;  and  we  advance  in  the  second 
by  aiming  at  Christ,  claiming  Christ,  embracing  Christ, 
delighting  and  rejoicing  in  Christ  received  in  the  heart, 
through  the  channel  of  the  Gospel  promises.  To  be 
able  to  go  on  in  the  way  of  the  cross  and  that  of  faith, 
you  stand  in  need,  madam,  of  much  recollection  and 
steady  watchfulness  over  the  workings  of  your  own 
heart,  and  diligent  attention  to  the  whispers  of  Divine 
grace.  That  the  Lord  would  powerfully  enable  us  to 
run  on  with  faith  and  patience,  till  we  inherit  the  pro- 
mises, is  the  prayer  of,  madam,  your  servant  in  Christ, 

"J.  F." 

31.  The  following  directions,  sent,  I  believe,  about  the 
same  time,  to  this  well  disposed,  but  diffident  friend,  show 
still  more  fully  how  well  qualified  he  was  to  strengthen 
the  weak  hands,  and  to  speak  a  word  in  season  to  such  as 
were  weary  : — "  (1.)  It  is  better  to  perish  for  believing 
wrong,  than  for  not  believing  at  all :  venture,  then,  with 
Esther,  If  I  perish,  I  perish.    I  had  rather  perish  in 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLFTCHER. 


96 


trying  to  touch  the  sceptre  of  grace,  than  in  indolently 
waiting  till  the  King  touches  me  with  it. 

"  (2.)  Christ  often  reveals  himself  as  a  babe,  a  feeble 
in  fant.  Do  not  you  despise  him  in  his  lowest,  weakest 
state  :  do  not  say  to  your  Saviour,  I  will  not  receive 
thee,  unless  thou  appear  in  a  blaze  of  glorious  light. 
Reject  not  the  little  leaven  ;  and  if  your  grain  of  faith  is 
small  as  a  mustard  seed,  be  the  more  careful  not  to  throw 
it  away  as  dirt.  The  Holy  Ghost  says,  The  light  of 
the  just  shines  more  and  more  to  the  perfect  day ;  and 
how  feeble  is  the  li<jht  of  the  early  morning,  now  un- 
discernible  from  darkness  ! 

"  (3.)  Sin  gives  you  your  first  title  to  the  Friend  of 
sinners,  and  a  simple  and  naked  faith  the  second.  Do 
not  then  puzzle  yourself  about  contrition,  faithfulness, 
love,  joy,  power  over  sin,  and  a  thousand  such  things, 
which  Satan  will  persuade  you  you  must  bring  to  Christ. 
He  will  receive  you  gladly  with  the  great  mountain  of 
sin  ;  and  the  smallest  grain  of  faith,  at  Christ's  feet,  will 
remove  that  mountain. 

"  (4.)  At  the  peril  of  your  soul,  do  not  puzzle  yourself 
at  present  about  joy  or  love.  Only  desire  that  this 
blessed  Man  may  be  your  bridegroom,  and  that  you  may 
firmly  believe  that  he  is  so,  because  he  hath  given  you 
his  flesh  and  blood  upon  the  cross  :  and  continue  believ- 
ing this,  and  trusting  in  him.  Your  business  is  with 
Jesus,  with  his  free,  unmerited  love,  with  his  glorious 
promises,  &c,  Sec. 

"  (5.)  Strongly  expect  no  good  from  your  own  heart: 
expect  nothing  but  unbelief,  hardness,  unfaithfulness, 
and  backsliding.  And  when  you  find  them  there,  be  not 
shaken  nor  discouraged  ;  rather  rejoice  that  you  are  to 
live  by  faith  on  the  faithful  heart  of  Christ,  and  cast  not 
away  your  confidence,  which  hath  great  recompense  of 
reward. 

"  (6.)  When  you  are  dull  and  heavy,  as  will  often  be 
the  case,  remember  to  live  on  Christ,  and  claim  the  more 
by  naked  faith.  I  have  not  time  to  say  more,  but  Jesus, 
whom  you  hold  by  the  hem  of  his  promise,  will  teach 
you  all  the  day  lonor.  Look  unto  him  and  be  saved,  and 
remember  he  forgives  seventy  times  seven.  May  his 
dawning  love  attend  you  till  it  is  noonday  in  your  soul; 
and  pray  for  your  unworthy  serva-it,  J.  F." 


86  LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 

32.  It  must  be  allowed  that  these  directions  were  well 
adapted  to  beget  faith  in  the  unbelieving  and  diffident,  in 
order  to  their  obtaining  justification  and  peace  with  God, 
and  to  strengthen  that  faith.  In  the  meantime  he  was 
not  wanting  in  giving  other -advices  calculated  to  guard 
and  improve  it.  To  Mr.  Vaughan  he  says,  "As  vou 
desire  me  to  tell  you  simply  what  I  think  of  the  state  of 
your  soul  as  described  in  your  letter,  I  will  do  it  as  the 
Lord  shall  enable  me. 

"I  praise  him  that  he  has  begun  a  good  work  in  you, 
which  I  make  no  doubt  he  will  finish,  if  you  do  not 
counteract  the  operations  of  his  grace.  Your  having 
sometimes  free  access  to  the  throne  of  grace,  but  soon 
falling  back  into  deadness  and  darkness,  is  the  common 
experience  of  many  who  walk  sincerely,  though  slowly, 
toward  Sion.  It  argues,  on  one  side,  the  drawings  of 
faith;  and  on  the  other,  the  power  of  unbelief.  I  would 
■compare  such  souls  to  the  child  of  the  patriarch  who 
«ame  to  the  birth,  nay,  saw  the  light  of  this  world,  ami 
yet  returned  again  into  his  mother's  womb,  until,  after 
a  greater  struggle,  he  broke  through  all  that  was  in  his 
way,  and  left  the  place  where  he  had  been  so  long  in 
prison. 

"If  you  fall  short,  yet  be  not  cast  down,  but  strive 
more  earnestly  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate.  Watch 
more  unto  prayer,  and  pray  for  that  faith  which  enables 
the  believer  now  to  lay  hold  on  eternal  life.  Remember, 
however,  that  your  prayers  will  not  avail  much,  unless 
you  deny  yourself,  and  take  up  every  cross,  which  the 
Lord  sutlers  men,  devils,  or  your  own  heart,  to  lay  upon 
you.  In  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  in  the  power  of  his 
might,  break  through  all ;  and  you  will  find  daily  more 
and  mere,  that  Jesus  is  the  light  of  the  world,  and  that 
he  who  follows  him,  shall  not  walk  in  darkness.  The 
peace  of  Jesus  be  with  you.    Farewell.  J.  F." 

To  Miss  Hatton,  who  seems  to  have  been  in  a  similar 
state  of  mind,  he  writes  more  largely  as  follow*  : — "  You 
seem,  madam,  not  to  have  a  clear  idea  of  the  happiness 
of  the  love  of  Jesus,  or,  at  least,  of  your  privilege  of  lov- 
ing him  again.  Your  dulness  in  private  prayer  arises 
from  the  want  of  familiar  friendship  with  Jesus.  To 
obviate  it,  go  to  your  closet,  as  if  you  were  going  to 
meet  the  dearest  friend  you  ever  had  :  cast  yourself 


LIFE  OF  REV.  /.  FLETCHER. 


87 


immediately  at  his  feet,  bemoan  your  coldness  before  him, 
extol  his  love  to  you,  till  your  heart  break  with  a  desire 
to  love  him,  yea,  till  it  actually  melts  with  his  love.  Be 
you,  if  uot  the  importunate  widow,  at  least  the  importu- 
nate virgin,  and  get  your  Lord  to  avenge  you  of  your 
adversary — I  mean  your  cold  heart. 

"  You  ask  from  me  some  directions  to  get  a  mortified 
spirit.    To  get  this  get  recollection. 

"  Recollection  is  a  dwelling  within  ourselves  ;  being 
abstracted  from  the  creature,  and  turned  toward  God.  It 
is  both  outward  and  inward.  Outward  recollection  con- 
sists in  silence  from  all  idle  and  superfluous  words  ;  and 
a  wise  disentanglement  from  the  world,  keeping  to  our 
own  business,  observing  and  following  the  order  of  God 
for  ourselves,  and  shutting  the  ear  against  all  curious 
and  unprofitable  matters.  Inward  recollection  consists 
in  shutting  the  door  of  the  senses;  in  a  deep  attention  to 
the  presence  of  God  ;  and  in  a  continual  care  of  enter- 
taining holy  thoughts,  for  fear  of  spiritual  idleness. — ■ 
Through  the  power  of  the  Spirit  let  this  recollection  be 
steady  even  in  the  midst  of  hurrying  business  :  let  it  be 
calm  and  peaceable;  and  let  it  be  lasting.  Watch  and 
pray^  lest  you  enter  into  temptation. 

"  To  maintain  this  recollection,  beware  of  engaging 
too  deeply,  and  beyond  what  is  necessary,  in  outward 
things  ;  beware  of  suffering  your  affections  to  be  en- 
tangled by  worldly  vanities,  your  imagination  to  amuse 
itself  with  unprofitable  objects,  and  of  indulging  your- 
self in  the  commission  of  what  are  called  small  faults 

M  For  want  of  continuing  in  a  recollected  frame  all  the 
day,  our  times  of  prayer  are  frequently  dry  and  useless, 
imagination  prevails,  and  the  heart  wanders  :  whereas 
we  pass  easily  from  recollection  to  delightful  prayer. 
Without  this  spirit  there  can  be  no  useful  self-denial,  nor 
can  we  know  ourselves  ;  but  where  it  dwells,  it  makes 
the  soul  all  eye,  all  ear;  traces  and  discovers  sin,  repels 
its  first  assaults,  or  crushes  it  in  its  earliest  risings. 

"  But  take  care  hjere  to  be  more  taken  up  with  the 
thoughts  of  God  than  of  yourself;  and  consider  how 
hardly  recollection  is  sometimes  obtained,  and  how 
easily  it  is  lost.  Use  no  forced  labour  to  raise  a  parti- 
cular frame;  nor  tire,  fret,  and  grow  impatient,  if  you 
have  no  comfort ;  but  meekly  acquiesce  and  confess  your- 


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LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


self  unworthy  of  it;  lie  prostrate  in  humble  submission 
before  God,  and  patiently  wait  for  the  smiles  of  Jesus. 

"  May  the  following  motives  stir  you  up  to  the  pursuit 
of  recollection.  1.  Without  it,  God's  voice  cannot  be 
heard  in  the  soul.  2.  It  is  the  altar  on  which  we  must 
offer  up  our  Isaacs.  3.  It  is  instrumentally  a  ladder  (if 
I  may  be  allowed  the  expression)  to  ascend  to  God.  4. 
By  it  the  soul  gets  to  its  centre,  out  of  which  it  cannot 
rest.  5.  Man's  soul  is  the  temple  of  God — recollection 
the  holy  of  holies.  6.  As  the  wicked  by  recollection 
find  hell  in  their  hearts,  so  faithful  souls  find  heaven. 
7.  Without  recollection  all  means  of  grace  are  useless, 
or  make  but  a  light  and  transitory  impression. 

"  If  we  would  be  recollected,  we  must  expect  to  suffer. 
Sometimes  God  does  not  speak  immediately  to  the  heart ; 
we  must  then  continue  to  listen  with  a  more  humble 
silence.  Sometimes  assaults  of  the  heart  or  of  the 
temper  may  follow,  together  with  weariness,  and  a  de- 
sire to  turn  the  mind  to  something  else  :  here  we  must  be 
patient.  By  patience  unwearied  wc  inherit  the  promises. 

"  Dissipated  souls  are  severely  punished.  If  any  man 
abide  not  in  Christ  he  is  cast  out  as  a  branch — cast  out 
of  the  light  of  God's  countenance,  and  barrenness  fol- 
lows in  the  use  of  the  means.  The  world  and  Satan 
gather  and  use  him  for  their  service.  He  is  cast  into 
the  fire  of  the  passions,  of  guilt,  of  temptation,  and  per- 
haps, of  hell. 

"As  dissipation  always  meets  its  punishment,  so  recol- 
lection never  fails  of  its  reward.  After  a  patient  waiting 
comes  communion  with  God,  and  the  sweet  sense  of  his 
peace  and  love.  Recollection  is  a  castle,  an  inviolable 
fortress  against  the  world  and  the  devil  ;  it  renders  all 
times  and  places  alike,  and  is  the  habitation  where  Christ 
and  his  bride  dwell. 

"I  give  you  these  hints,  not  to  set  Christ  aside,  but 
that  you  may,  according  to  the  light  and  power  given  to 
you,  take  these  stones  and  place  them  upon  the  chief 
corner  stone,  and  cement  them  with  the  blood  of  Jesus, 
until  the  superstructure,  in  some  measure,  answer  to  the 
excellence  of  the  foundation.  I  beg  an  interest  in  your 
prayers  for  myself  and  those  committed  to  my  charge, 
and  am,  with  sincerity,  madam,  your  servant  for  Christ's 
sake.  J.  F." 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


80 


These  important  advices  were  given  March  5,  17G4, 
and  September  following  he  adds: — "With  respect  to 
the  hiuderances  your  worldly  business  lays  in  the  way 
of  your  soul,  I  would  have  you  to  be  persuaded  that 
they  are  by  no  means  insurmountable.  The  following 
means,  in  due  subordination  to  faith  in  Jesus,  may,  by 
the  blessing  of  God,  be  of  service  to  you  : — 

"(1.)  Get  up  early,  and  save  time  before  you  go  to 
business,  to  put  on  the  whole  armour  of  God,  by  close 
meditation  and  earnest  prayer. 

"(2.)  Consider  the  temptation  that  most  easily  besets 
y  ou,  whether  it  be  hurry,  or  vanity,  or  lightness,  or  want 
of  recollection  to  do  what  you  do  as  unto  God.  Ponder 
the  consequences  of  those  sins,  see  your  weakness  to 
resist  them,  and  endeavour  to  obtain  a  more  feeling  sense 
of  your  helplessness  :  when  you  have  it,  you  will  natu- 
rally watch  unto  prayer,  and  look  to  Christ  for  strength 
from  moment  to  moment. 

"  (3.)  When  your  mind  hath  been  drawn  aside,  do  not 
fret,  or  let  yourself  go  down  the  stream  of  nature,  as  if 
it  were  in  vain  to  attempt  to  swim  against  it ;  but  confess 
your  fault,  and  calmly  resume  your  former  endeavour, 
but  with  more  humility  and  watchfulness. 

"(4.)  Steal  from  business  now  and  then,  though  for 
two  or  three  minutes  only,  and  in  the  corner  where  you 
can  be  least  observed,  pour  out  your  soul  in  confession, 
or  a  short  ejaculation  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  for  power  to 
Match,  and  to  believe  that  he  can  keep  you  watching. 
May  you  feelingly  believe  that  he  hath  bought  the  power 
for  you,  and  then,  of  a  truth,  you  will  find  it  done  to 
you  according  to  your  faith.    I  am,  &c,         J.  F." 

33.  These  extracts  from  his  letters  may  serve  to  show 
us  how  this  servant  of  the  Lord  Jesus  was  wont  to  exer- 
cise his  ministry  toward  the  weak  and  wavering,  and 
how  well  the  Lord  had  furnished  him  with  grace  and 
gifts  for  the  important  office  of  binding  up  the  broken- 
hearted, proclaiming  liberty  to  the  captives,  and  the 
opening  of  the  prison  to  them  that  were  bound.  But 
this  was  not  the  only  way  in  which  he  com  forted  those 
that  mourned,  and  gave  them  "the  garments  of  praise 
for  the  spirit  of  heaviness." 

34.  "As  the  parish  of  Madeley  was  uncommonly 
populous,  so  it  abounded  with  persons  who,  either 


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LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


through  infirmity  or  misfortune,  were  reduced  to  a  slate 
of  indigence  and  distress.  Over  this  despised  and  de- 
stitute part  of  his  flock,  Mr.  Fletcher  was  accustomed 
to  watch  with  unusual  attention  ajid  concern.  He  re- 
garded them  as  his  peculiar  charge,  and  exerted  himself 
to  the  utmost  for  their  encouragement  and  support.  Not 
content  with  freely  offering  them  the  consolations  of 
the  Gospel,  he  contributed  largely  to  the  relief  of  their 
temporal  necessities,  and  generally  divided  among  them 
the  greater  part  of  his  income.  He  sought  them  out 
with  the  most  industrious  care,  and  expressed  a  great 
degree  of  thankfulness  to  any  person  who  would  direct 
him  to  the  abodes  of  wretchedness  and  poverty.  To 
such  abodes,  indeed,  he  was  seldom  a  stranger,  nor 
eould  any  consideration  prevail  with  him  to  pass  them 
by,  without  attempting  to  dry  up  the  tears,  and  supply 
the  wants  of  their  afflicted  inhabitants.  His  daily  walks 
were  among  the  fatherless  and  the  widows,  the  friend- 
less and  the  oppressed  :  and  while  he  counted  it  his  in- 
dispensable duty  to  labour  for  their  relief,  he  considered 
that  very  labour  as  one  of  the  sublimest  pleasures  he 
was  capable  of  enjoying. 

35.  "  The  profusion  of  his  charity  toward  the  poor 
and  needy  is  scarcely  credible  :  it  constantly  exhausted 
his  purse,  it  frequently  unfurnished  his  house,  and  some- 
times left  him  destitute  of  the  most  common  necessaries. 
He  was  accustomed  to  make  an  exchange  of  state  with 
his  indigent  brethren,  freely  bartering  his  ease  for  their 
wo,  and  his  plenty  for  their  penury.  That  he  might  feed 
the  hungry,  he  led  a  life  of  abstinence  and  self-denial ; 
that  he  might  -cover  the  naked,  he  clothed  himself  in 
the  most  homely  attire  ;  and  that  he  might  cherish  such 
as  were  perishing  in  a  state  of  extreme  distress,  he  sub- 
mitted to  hardships  of  a  very  trying  nature."  He  not 
only  relieved  their  necessities  himself,  to  the  uttermost 
of  his  power,  but  was  the  mean  of  procuring  help  for 
them  from  others  that  were  of  greater  ability.  This  ap- 
pears from  his  letters  of  thanks  to  some  of  those  per- 
sons. James  I  d,  Esq.,  in  particular,  sent  them  fre- 
quent relief  in  different  ways.  "Yesterday,  (says  Mr. 
Fletcher  to  that  friend  of  the  poor,  in  a  letter,  dated 
Madeley,  March  30,  1767,)  I  received  your  kind  letter; 
and  your  kind  present  about  a  month  ago.    It  came  safe, 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


91 


and  is  a  large  stock  for  the  poor  and  me.  The  Lord  re- 
turn it  you  in  living  water.  May  it  flow  like  a  never 
failing  stream  through  your  soul,  and  the  souls  of  all 
that  are  near  and  dear  to  you  ;  that  is,  not  only  those 
of  your  own  household,  but  also  of  the  household  of 
faith.  What  a  pleasure  to  love  all,  and  be  a  well  wisher 
to  all !" 

Again,  in  a  latter  dated  March  20,  1709,  he  says  to  the 
same: — "Your  rich  present  of  meat  came  last  week, 
and  shall  be  distributed  to  the  pious  poor  agreeably  to 
your  orders,  as  a  proof  that  Jesus,  tin;  liberal  Jesus,  the 
Bread  of  life,  is  indeed  risen,  and  lives  in  his  members, 
who  mutually  aid  and  comfort  each  other.  We  are 
happy  to  receive  your  bounty,  but  you  are  more  happy 
in  bestowing  it  upon  us  :  witness  the  words  of  Jesus, 
'  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive.'  Neverthe- 
less, receive  by  faith  the  presents  of  the  Lord,  the  gifts 
of  his  Spirit,  and  reject  not  the  bread  which  came  down 
from  heaven,  because  tlieLord  gives  it  you  with  so  much 
love." 

He  writes  to  the  same  friend  some  time  after,  "  I  think 
I  wrote  my  last  two  days  before  I  received  your  bounty — 
a  large  hogshead  of  rice,  and  two  cheeses.  Accept  the 
thanks  of  our  poor  and  mine  on  the  occasion.  I  distri- 
buted it  on  Shrove  Tuesday,  and  preached  to  a  nume- 
rous congregation  on,  'Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of 
God  and  his  righteousness,  and  all  other  things  shall  be 
added  unto  you.'  May  you  and  I  find  the  bread  we 
scattered  that  day,  though  it  should  not  be  till  after  many 
days.  We  prayed  for  our  benefactor,  that  God  would 
give  him  a  hundredfold  in  this  life,  and  eternal  life, 
where  life  eternal  will  be  no  burden.  I  saw  then  what 
I  have  not  often  seen  on  such  occasions,  gladness  with- 
out the  appearance  of  envying  on  grudging."  "  But  it 
is  impossible  (proceeds  Mr.  Gilpin)  to  declare  in  how 
many  ways  he  discovered  his  tenderness  toward  the 
friendless,  and  to  how  many  inconveniences  he  cheer- 
fully exposed  himself,  for  the  alleviation  of  their  various 
distresses.  He  followed  them  to  the  most  secret  scenes 
of  their  wretchedness,  and  in  all  their  afflictions  he  was 
afflicted ;  he  literally  bore  their  several  burdens,  and 
freely  drank  of  their  sorrowful  cup,  that  he  might  make 
room  in  it  for  a  mixture  of  consolation  and  joy.  He 


92 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


was  eyes  to  the  blind,  and  feet  to  the  lame ;  he  was 
a  father  to  the  poor,  and  a  friend  to  him  that  had  no 
helper ;  the  blessing  of  such  as  were  ready  to  perish 
came  upon  him,  and  he  caused  the  widow's  heart  to  sing 
for  joy.  Such  was  the  attention  of  this  compassionate 
pastor  to  the  necessitous  among  his  people,  and  such 
was  the  liberality  which  he  exercised  toward  them  to 
the  close  of  his  life;  when  a  concern  for  their  welfare 
accompanied  him  to  his  deathbed,  where  he  tenderly 
bewailed  their  distresses,  and  earnestly  recommended 
them  to  the  favour  of  that  God  who  had  promised  that 
the  poor  shall  not  always  be  forgotten. 

36.  "The  concern  which  Mr.  Fletcher  expressed  for 
the  relief  of  the  unfortunate  and  afflicted,  was  truly  un- 
common ;  hut  his  compassion  was  still  more  abundant 
toward  the  immoral  and  profane,  whom  he  constantly 
regarded  as  the  most  miserable  of  men.  While  he 
detested  vice,  he  pitied  the  vicious :  and  while  he  fled 
from  sin,  as  from  the  face  of  a  serpent,  lie  turned  to  the 
sinner  with  the  warmest  emotions  of  benevolence  and 
charity.  Considering  the  wicked  as  poor  beyond  the 
power  of  expression,  he  joyfully  presented  them  with 
the  pearl  of  great  price.  He  saw  them  wandering  as 
sheep  without  a  shepherd,  and  endeavoured  to  conduct 
them  to  the  fold  of  God:  he  beheld  them  attempting  to 
quench  their  thirst  at  the  poisoned  streams  of  worldly 
pleasure,  and  affectionately  invited  them  to  the  fountain 
of  living  vmters :  he  saw  them  heedlessly  rushing  to  the 
gates  of  death,  and  laboured  to  turn  their  feet  into  the 
way  everlasting. 

"Animated  with  that  burning  charity,  by  which  St. 
Paul  was  impelled  to  publish  the  Gospel  from  nation  to 
nation,  this  evangelical  preacher  was  constrained,  not 
only  within,  but,  as  has  been  observed  above,  beyond 
the  limits  of  his  parish,  to  follow  after  the  ignorant,  the 
careless,  and  the  abandoned,  warning  every  man,  and 
teaching  every  man  in  all  wisdom,  that  he  might  pre~ 
sent  every  man  perfect  in  Christ  Jesus.  Considering 
the  business  with  which  he  was  charged,  as  an  employ- 
ment of  the  highest  importance,  without  paying  any 
servile  attention  to  times  or  places,  he  lost  no  opportu- 
nity of  executing  the  commission  he  had  received.  His 
highest  wish  was  to  convert  the  wicked  from  the  error 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


99 


of  his  way;  and  in  the  course  of  so  arduous  an  under- 
taking, he  was  prepared,  at  the  command  of  his  Lord, 
to  go  forth  into  the  highways  and  hedges  with  the  invi- 
tations of  the  Gospel :  anxious  to  do  the  work  of  an 
evangelist,  with  all  possible  fidelity,  and  not  ashamed 
that  every  hour  and  every  place  should  bear  testimony 
to  the  affectionate  zeal  with  which  he  laboured  for  the 
welfare  of  the  Church. 

37.  "  As  the  miser  toils  to  increase  his  hoards,  and  as 
the  ambitious  person  studies  to  advance  his  reputation 
in  the  world  ;  with  equal  assiduity  and  desire  this  holy 
man  endeavoured  to  promote  the  reformation  of  the  un- 
godly. Rising  up  early,  and  late  taking  rest,  he  was 
employed,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  through  the 
whole  of  the  day,  in  hiring  labourers  into  the  service  of 
his  Lord.  To  engage  their  attention  and  excite  their 
desire,  he  set  before  them  the  freedom  of  that  service, 
the  honours  that  attend  it,  and  the  rewards  that  follow 
it;  to  strengthen  their  feeble  resolution,  he  joyfully 
offered  them  every  brotherly  assistance  ;  and  to  shame 
their  inactivity,  he  pointed  them  to  the  example  of  those 
who  cheerfully  bore  all  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day. 
As  an  affectionate  father  conducts  himself  toward  his 
disobedient  children,  reproving  and  alluring,  admonish- 
ing and  persuading  them,  with  every  affecting  testimony 
of  parental  tenderness  ;  so  this  spiritual  father  conduct- 
ed himself  toward  the  children  of  transgression  and 
impiety,  seeking,  by  every  affectionate  method,  to  en- 
gage them  in  the  pursuit  of  that  holiness  without  which 
no  man  shall  see  the  Lord. 

38.  "With  respect  to  individuals,  he  was  peculiarly 
careful  to  choose  the  fittest  opportunities  of  conversing 
with  them  upon  sacred  subjects.  In  the  day  of  their 
prosperity  he  sometimes  spake  to  them  as  it  were  at  a 
distance  ;  but  in  the  day  of  their  adversity  he  redoubled 
his  efforts,  and  followed  them  with  the  most  familiar 
attention  ;  fully  persuaded  that  religious  impressions 
can  never  be  made  in  a  more  favourable  season  than 
when  the  heart  has  been  softened  by  previous  afflicting 
providences.  Were  they  destitute  of  spiritual  know- 
ledge ? — he  explained  to  them  the  mysteries  of  evange- 
lical truth.  Were  they  presuming  upon  the  mercy  they 
had  formerly  abused  ? — he  awakened  their  fears  by  re- 


94 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


presentations  of  that  righteous  wrath  which  is  revealed 
from  heaven  against  all  ungodliness.  Were  they 
doubtful  of  ever  finding  acceptance  with  God  ? — he  ani- 
mated their  hopes,  and  encouraged  them  to  a  steady  de- 
pendence upon  the  promises  of  God ;  happily  adapting 
his  several  applications  to  the  circumstances  of  his 
spiritual  patients.  Such  was  the  ardent  charity  of  this 
father  in  Christ  toward  the  depraved  and  unbelieving, 
wherever  he  discovered  them  ;  a  charity  which  was  fre- 
quently no  less  effectual  in  its  operations,  than  powerful 
in  its  essence.  A  number  of  instances  of  this  might  be 
produced,  if  need  were." 

39.  It  was  his  concern  for  the  salvation  of  his  parish- 
ioners, of  whatever  description,  which  induced  him  to 
write  pastoral  letters  to  them  when  at  any  time  duty  to 
others  called  him  to  commit  them  to  the  care  of  another 
minister  for  a  few  weeks.  These  letters,  which  are 
many  in  number,  all  breathe  the  spirit  of  deep  humility, 
ardent  zeal,  and  active  disinterested  benevolence,  and 
show,  in  a  striking  light,  how  he  watched  over  the  souls 
of  his  people  as  one  that  must  give  an  account.  Justice 
to  his  character  as  a  minister  of  Christ,  and  a  servant 
of  his  Church,  seems  to  require  that  I  should  insert  at 
least  one  or  two  of  these,  which  shall  be  the  first  in  or- 
der, written  in  the  years  1765  and  17(56.  I  refer  those 
who  wish  to  see  more  of  them  to  the  volume  of  his  let- 
ters, published  by  the  Rev.  Melville  Home.  The  for- 
mer is  dated  Bath,  October  30,  and  is  as  follows  : — 

"  To  those  that  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  and 
about  Madeley :  Peace  be  multiplied  to  you  from  God 
the  Father,  and  from  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  through 
the  operations  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen. 

"  By  the  help  of  Divine  Providence,  and  the  assist- 
ance of  your  prayers,  I  came  safe  here.  I  was,  and  am 
still,  a  good  deal  weighed  down  under  the  sense  of  my 
own  insufficiency  to  preach  the  unsearchable  riches  of 
Christ  to  poor  dying  souls. 

"  This  place  is  the  seat  of  Satan's  gaudy  throne*:  the 
Lord  hath,  nevertheless,  a  few  names  here,  who  are  not 
ashamed  of  him,  and  of  whom  he  is  not  ashamed,  both 
among  the  poor  and  among  the  rich.  There  are  not 
many  of  the  last,  though  blessed  be  God  for  any  one : 
it  is  a  great  miracle  if  one  camel  passes  through  the  eye 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


96 


of  a  needle,  or  in  otlier  words,  if  one  rich  man  enters 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  I  thank  God,  none  of  you 
are  rich  in  the  things  of  this  world.  You  are  freed  from 
a  double  snare,  even  from  Dives'  portion  in  this  life. 
May  you  know  the  happiness  attending  your  state !  It 
is  a  mercy  to  be  driven  to  the  throne  of  grace,  even  by 
bodily  want,  and  to  live  in  dependence  on  Divine  mercy 
for  a  morsel  of  bread. 

"  I  have  been  sowing  the  seed  the  Lord  hath  given  me 
both  in  Bath  and  Bristol,  and  I  hope  your  prayers  have 
not  been  lost  upon  me  as  a  minister  ;  for  though  I  have 
not  been  enabled  to  discharge  my  office  as  I  wouid,  the 
Lord  hath  yet,  in  some  measure,  stood  by  me,  and  over- 
ruled my  foolishness  and  helplessness.  I  am  much  sup- 
ported by  the  thought  that  you  bear  me  on  your  hearts, 
and  when  you  come  to  the  throne  of  grace  to  ask  a 
blessing  for  me  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  the  Lord  doth  in 
nowise  cast  you  out. 

"In  regard  to  the  state  of  my  soul,  I  find,  blessed  be 
God,  that  as  my  day  is,  so  is  my  strength  to  travel  on, 
either  through  good  or  bad  report.  My  absence  from 
you  answers  two  good  ends  to  me  : — I  feel  more  my  in- 
sufficiency, and  the  need  of  being  daily  ordained  by 
Christ  to  preach  his  Gospel ;  and  I  shall  value  the  more 
Hiy  privileges  among  you,  please  God  I  return  safely  to 
you.  I  had  yesterday  a  most  advantageous  oiler  made 
me  of  going,  free  of  cost,  to  visit  my  mother,  brothers, 
and  sisters  in  the  flesh,  whom  I  have  not  seen  for  eigh- 
teen years  ;  but  I  find  my  relations  in  the  spirit  nearer 
and  dearer  to  me  than  my  relations  in  the  flesh.  I  have, 
therefore,  rejected  the  kind  offer,  that  I  may  return  among 
you,  and  be  comforted  by  the  mutual  faith  both  of  yon 
and  me. 

"  I  hope,  dear  brethren,  you  improve  much  under  the 
ministry  of  that  faithful  servant  of  God,  Mr.  Brown, 
whom  Providence  blesses  you  with.  Make  haste  to 
gather  the  honey  of  knowledge  and  grace  as  it  drops 
from  his  lips  ;  and  may  I  find  the  hive  of  your  hearts 
so  full  of  it  on  my  return,  that  I  may  share  "with  you  in 
the  heavenly  store.  In  order  to  this,  beseech  the  Lord 
to  excite  your  hunger  an  1  thirst  for  Jesus'  flesh  and 
blood,  and  to  increase  your  desire  of  the  sincere  milk 
of  the  word.    When  people  are  hungry  they  will  find 


96 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


time  for  their  meals,  and  a  good  appetite  does  not  think 
a  meal  a  day  too  much.  As  you  go  to  your  spiritual 
meals  do  not  forget  to  pray  all  the  way,  and  to  feast 
your  souls  in  hopes  of  hearing  some  good  news  from 
heaven,  and  from  Jesus,  the  faithful,  loving  Friend 
whom  you  have  there  :  and  when  you  return,  be  sure  to 
carry  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Jesus'  dying  and  rising 
love  home  to  your  houses,  in  the  vessel  of  a  believing 
heart. 

"Let  your  light  be  attended  with  the  warmth  of  love. 
Be  not  satisfied  to  know  the  way  to  heaven,  but  walk  in 
it  immediately,  constantly,  and  joyfully.  Be  all  truly  in 
earnest :  you  may,  indeed,  impose  upon  your  brethren, 
by  a  formal  attendance  on  the  means  of  grace,  but  you 
cannot  deceive  the  Searcher  of  hearts.  Let  him  always 
see  your  hearts  struggling  toward  him  ;  and  if  you  fall 
through  heaviness,  sloth,  or  unbelief,  do  not  make  a  bad 
matter  worse,  by  continuing  helpless  in  the  ditch  of  sin 
and  guilt.  Up,  and  away  to  the  fountain  of  Jesus'  blood. 
It  will  not  only  wash  away  the  guilt  of  past  sins,  but 
strengthen  you  to  tread  all  iniquity  under  your  feet  for 
the  time  to  come.  Never  forget  that  the  soul  of  the  dili- 
gent shall  be  made  fat,  and  that  the  Lord  will  spew  the 
lukewarm  out  of  his  mouth,  unless  he  gets  that  love 
which  makes  a  person  fervent  in  spirit,  diligent  in  busi- 
ness, serving  the  Lord. 

"  You  know  the  way  to  get  this  love  is,  1.  To  consider 
the  free  mercy  of  God,  and  to  believe  in  the  pardoning 
love  of  Jesus,  who  died  the  just  for  the  unjust  to  bring  us 
to  God.  2.  To  be  frequently,  if  not  constantly  applying 
this  faith,  with  all  the  attention  of  your  mind,  and  all  the 
fervour  of  your  heart,  '  Lord,  I  am  lost,  but  Christ  hath 
died.'  3.  To  try  actually  to  love,  as  you  can,  by  setting 
your  affections  on  Christ,  whom  you  see  not ;  and  for  his 
sake,  on  your  brethren,  whom  you  do  see.  4.  To  use 
much  private  prayer  for  yourselves  and  others ;  and  to 
try  to  keep  up  that  communion  with  God  and  your  absent 
brethren.  I  beg,  in  order  to  this,  that  you  will  not  for- 
sake the  assembling  of  yourselves  together,  as  the  man- 
ner of  some  is :  and  when  you  meet  as  a  society,  be 
neither  backward,  nor  forward  to  speak.  Esteem  your- 
selves every  one  as  the  meanest  in  company,  and  be  glad 
to  sit  at  the  feet  of  the  lowest.   If  you  are  tempted  against 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


91 


any  one,  yield  not  to  the  temptation,  and  pray  much  for 
that  love  which  hopes  all  things,  and  puts  the  best  con- 
struction even  upon  the  worst  of  failings.  I  beg,  for 
Christ's  sake,  I  may  find  no  divisions  nor  offences  among 
you  on  my  return.  'If  there  be  any  consolation  in 
Christ,  if  any  comfort  of  love,  if  any  fellowship  of  the 
Spirit,  if  any  bowels  and  mercies,  fulfil  ye  my  joy,  that 
ye  be  like  minded,  having  the  same  love,  being  of  one 
accord,  and  of  one  mind.  Let  nothing  be  done  through 
strife  or  vain  glory  ;  but  in  lowliness  of  mind  let  each 
esteem  other  better  than  themselves.' 

"  I  earnestly  request  the  continuance  of  your  prayers 
for  me,  both  as  a  minister,  and  as  your  companion  in 
tribulation.  Ask  particularly  that  the  Lord  would  keep 
me  from  hurting  his  cause  in  these  parts  ;  and  that  when 
Providence  shall  bring  me  back  among  you,  I  may  be 
more  thoroughly  furnished  for  every  good  work.  Par- 
don me,  if  I  do  not  salute  you  all  by  name :  my  heart 
does  it,  if  my  pen  does  not.  That  the  blessing  of  God 
in  Jesus  Christ  may  crown  all  your  hearts,  and  all  your 
meetings,  is  the  earnest  prayer  of,  my  very  dear  bre- 
thren, yours,  &c,  J.  F." 

The  other  letter  to  which  I  referred  was  written  about 
a  year  after,  from  Oakhall,  which  place  and  neighbour- 
hood he  seems  to  have  had  a  peculiar  reason  for  visiting 
at  this  time.    It  is  in  the  following  words  : — 

•*  To  those  who  love  or  fear  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  at 
Madelcv  :  Grace,  peace,  and  love,  be  multiplied  to  you 
from  our  God  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

"  Providence,  my  dear  brethren,  called  me  so  sud- 
denly from  you,  that  I  had  not  time  to  take  my  leave, 
and  recommend  myself  to  your  prayers.  But  I  hope 
the  good  Spirit  of  our  God,  which  is  the  Spirit  of  love 
and  supplication,  has  brought  me  to  your  remembrance, 
as  the  poorest  and  weakest  of  Christ's  ministers,  and 
consequently  as  one  whose  hands  stand  most  in  need  of 
being  strengthened  and  lifted  up  by  your  prayers.  Pray 
on  then  for  yourselves,  for  one  another,  and  for  him 
whose  glory  is  to  minister  to  you  in  holy  things,  and 
whose  sorrow  it  is  not  to  do  it  in  a  manner  more  suit- 
able to  the  majesty  of  the  Gospel,  and  more  profitable 
to  your  souls. 

"  My  heart  is  with  you,  and  yet  I  bear  patiently  this 


ys 


LIFE  OF  REV.  3.  FLETCHER. 


bodily  separation  for  three  reasons.  First,  the  variety 
of  more  faithful  and  able  ministers,  whom  you  have 
during  my  absence,  is  more  likely  to  be  serviceable  to 
you,  than  my  presence  among  you  :  and  I  would  always 
prefer  your  profit  to  my  satisfaction.  Secondly,  I  hope 
Providence  will  give  me  those  opportunities  of  convers- 
ing and  praying  with  a  greater  variety  of  experienced 
Christians,  which  will  tend  to  my  own  improvement, 
and,  I  trust,  in  the  end,  to  yours.  Thirdly,  I  flatter 
myself  that,  after  some  weeks"  absence,  my  ministry  will 
be  recommended  by  the  advantage  of  novelty,  which, 
the  more  the  pity,  goes  farther  with  some  than  the  word 
itself.  In  the  meantime,  I  shall  give  you  some  advice, 
which,  it  may  be,  will  prove  both  suitable  and  profitable 
to  yon. 

"  1.  Endeavour  to  improve  daily  under  the  ministry 
which  Providence  blesses  you  with.  Be  careful  to  attend 
it  with  diligence,  faith,  and  prayer.  Would  it  not  be  a 
great  shame  if,  when  ministers  come  thirty  or  forty  miles 
to  offer  you  peace  and  pardon,  strength  and  comfort,  in 
the  name  of  God,  any  of  you  should  slight  the  glorious 
message,  or  hear  it  as  if  it  were  nothing  to  you,  and  as 
if  you  heard  it  not?  See,  then,  that  you  never  come 
from  a  sermon  without  being  more  deeply  convinced  of 
sin  and  of  righteousness. 

"  2.  Use  more  prayer  before  you  go  to  church.  Con- 
sider that,  your  next  appearance  there  may  be  in  a  cof- 
fin ;  and  entreat  the  Lord  to  give  you  now  so  to  hunger 
and  thirst  after  righteousness  that  you  may  be  filled. 
Hungry  people  never  go  fasting  from  a  feast.  Call  to 
mind  the  text  I  preached  from  the  last  Sunday  but  one 
before  I  left  you, — -Wherefore,  laying  aside  all  ma- 
lice, <SfC.,  1  Peter  ii,  1. 

"  3.  When  you  are  under  the  word,  beware  of  sitting 
as  judges  rather  than  as  criminals.  Many  judge  of  the 
manner,  matter,  voice,  and  person  of  the  preacher.  You, 
perhaps,  judge  all  the  congregation,  when  you  should 
judge  yourselves  worthy  of  eternal  death,  and  yet  worthy 
of  eternal  life,  through  the  worthiness  of  Him  who  stood 
and  was  condemned  at  Pilate's  bar  for  you.  The  mo- 
ment you  have  done  crying  to  God  as  guilty,  or  thank- 
ing Christ  as  reprieved  criminals,  you  have  reason  to 
conclude  that  this  advice  is  levelled  at  you. 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


M  4.  When  you  have  used  a  mean  of  grace,  and  do  not 
find  yourselves  sensibly  quickened,  let  it  be  a  matter  of 
deep  humiliation  to  you.  For  want  of  repenting  of  their 
unbelief  and  hardness  of  heart,  some  get  into  a  habit  of 
deadnessand  indolence  ;  so  that  they  come  to  be  as  insen- 
sible, and  as  little  ashamed  of  themselves  for  it,  as  stones. 

"5.  Beware  of  the  inconsistent  behaviour  of  those 
who  complain  they  are  full  of  wanderings,  in  the  even- 
ing, under  the  word,  when  they  have  suffered  their  minds 
to  wander  from  Christ  all  the  day  long.  O  !  get  ac- 
quainted with  him,  that  you  may  walk  in  him,  and  with 
him.  Whatsoever  you  do  or  say,  especially  in  the 
things  of  God,  do  or  say  it  as  if  Christ  were  before,  be- 
hind, and  on  every  side  of  you.  Indeed  he  is  so,  whether 
you  consider  it  or  not ;  for  if,  when  he  visibly  appeared 
on  earth,  he  called  himself  the  Son  of  man  who  is  in 
heaven,  how  much  more  then  is  he  present  on  earth 
now,  that  he  makes  his  immediate  appearance  in  hea- 
ven ?  Make  your  conscience  maintain  a  sense  of  his 
blessed  presence  all  the  day  long,  and  then  all  the  day 
long  you  will  have  a  feast.  For  can  you  conceive  any 
thing  more  delightful  than  to  be  always  at  the  fountain 
of  love,  beauty,  and  joy  ; — at  the  spring  of  power,  wis- 
dom, goodness,  and  truth  ?  Can  there  be  a  purer  and 
more  melting  happiness  than  to  be  with  the  best  of 
fathers,  the  kindest  of  brothers,  the  most  generous  of 
benefactors,  and  the  tenderest  of  husbands  ?  Now  Jesus 
is  all  this,  and  much  more  to  the  believing  soul.  O! 
believe,  my  friends,  in  Jesus  now,  through  a  continual 
now.  And  until  you  can  thus  believe,  mourn  over  your 
unbelieving  hearts  ;  drag  them  to  him,  as  you  can ;  think 
of  the  efficacy  of  his  blood  shed  for  the  ungodly,  and 
wait  for  the  spirit  of  faith  from  on  high. 

**  6.  Some  of  you  wonder  why  you  cannot  believe ; 
why  you  cannot  see  Jesus  with  the  eye  of  your  mind, 
and  delight  in  him  with  all  the  affections  of  your  heart. 
I  apprehend  the  reason  to  be  one  of  these,  or,  perhaps, 
all  of  them  : — 

"  First,  You  are  not  poor,  lost,  undone,  helpless  sin- 
ners in  yourselves.  You  indulge  spiiitual  and  refined 
self-righteousness  ;  you  are  not  yet  dead  to  the  law,  and 
quite  slain  by  the  commandment.  Now  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  belongs  to  none  but  the  poor  in  spirit.  Jesus 


100 


LIFE  OF  RET.  J.  FLETCHER, 


came  to  save  none  but  the  lost.  What  wonder,  then,  if 
Jesus  be  nothing  to  you,  and  if  you  do  not  live  in  his 
kingdom  of  peace,  righteousness,  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

"  Secondly,  Perhaps  you  spend  your  time  in  curious 
reasonings,  instead  of  casting  yourselves  down,  as  for- 
lorn sinners,  at  Christ's  feet :  leaving  it  to  him  to  bles3 
you  when,  and  in  the  manner,  and  degree  he  pleases. 
Know  that  he  is  the  wise  and  sovereign  Lord,  and  that 
it  is  your  duty  to  lie  before  him  as  clay — as  fools — as 
sinful  nothings. 

"  Thirdly,  Perhaps  some  of  you  wilfully  keep  idols 
of  one  kind  or  other ;  you  indulge  some  sin  against  light 
and  knowledge,  and  it  is  neither  matter  of  humiliation, 
nor  confession  to  you.  The  love  of  praise,  of  the  world, 
of  money,  and  of  sensual  gratifications,  when  not  lament- 
ed, are  as  implacable  enemies  to  Christ  as  Judas  and 
Herod.  How  can  you  believe,  seeing  you  seek  the  ho- 
nour that  Cometh  of  men  ?  Hew,  then,  your  Agags  in 
pieces  before  the  Lord :  run  from  your  Delilahs  to  Jesus  : 
cut  off  the  right  hand,  and  pluck  out  the  right  eye  that 
offends  you.  Come  out  from  among  them,  and  be  se- 
parate, saith  the  Lord,  and  I  will  receive  you.  Never- 
theless, when  you  strive,  care  not  to  make  yourself  a 
righteousness  of  your  strivings.  Remember  that  meri- 
torious, justifying  righteousness  is  finished  and  brought 
in,  and  that  your  works  can  no  more  add  to  it  than  your 
sins  can  diminish  from  it.  Shout,  then,  the  Lord  our 
righteousness ;  and  if  you  feel  yourselves  undone  sin- 
ners, humbly,  yet  boldly  say,  In  the  Lord  I  have  right- 
eous nesss  and  strength. 

"  When  I  was  in  London  I  endeavoured  to  make  the 
most  of  my  time  ;  that  is  to  say,  to  hear,  to  receive,  and 
practise  the  word.  Accordingly  I  went  to  Mr.  White- 
field's  tabernacle,  and  heard  him  give  his  society  a  most 
excellent  exhortation  upon  love.  He  began  by  observ- 
ing, 'That  when  the  Apostle  St.  John  was  old,  and  past 
walking  and  preaching,  he  would  not  forsake  the  as- 
sembling himself  with  the  brethren,  as  the  manner  of 
too  many  is,  upon  little  or  no  pretence  at  all.  On  the 
contrary,  he  got  himself  carried  to  their  meeting,  and 
with  his  last  thread  of  voice,  preached  to  them  his  final 
sermon,  consisting  of  this  one  sentence,  '  My  little  chil- 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


101 


dren,  love  one  another.'  I  wish,  I  pray,  I  earnestly  be- 
seech you,  to  follow  that  evangelical,  apostolical  advice  ; 
and  till  God  make  you  all  little  children,  little  in  your 
own  eyes,  and  simple  as  little  children,  give  me  leave  to 
say,  my  dear  brethren,  love  one  another,  and  of  course 
judge  not,  provoke  not,  and  be  not  shy  of  one  another; 
but  bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfil  the  law  of 
Christ.  Yea,  bear  with  one  another's  infirmities,  and  do 
not  easily  cast  off  any  one ;  no,  not  for  sin,  except  it  be 
obstinately  persisted  in. 

"  My  sheet  is  full,  and  so  is  my  heart,  of  good  wishes 
for  you,  and  ardent  longings  after  you  all.  When  I  re- 
turn, let  me  have  the  comfort  of  finding  you  all  believ- 
ing and  loving.  Farewell,  my  dear  brethren.  The  bless- 
ing of  God  be  with  you  all !  This  is  the  earnest  desire 
of  your  unworthy  minister,  J.  F." 

40.  The  same  concern  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his 
flock,  together  with  the  very  mean  opinion  which  he 
had  formed  of  himself,  induced  him  from  time  to  time 
to  invite  other  ministers  to  visit  his  parish,  and  assist  him 
to  make  known  to  the  inhabitants  thereof  the  riches  of 
the  grace  of  God.  The  Rev.  Mr.  John  Wesley  fre- 
quently visited  him  ;  and  many  are  the  invitations  which 
we  find  to  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  in  his  letters  to  that 
servant  of  God.  Nor  did  he  confine  his  invitations  to 
ministers  of  the  Established  Church,  but  requested  the 
aid  even  of  such  as  had  not  been  episcopally  ordained. 
In  or  about  the  year  1764,  he  writes  as  follows  to  Mr. 
Mather,  a  well  known  and  eminent  preacher  in  Mr. 
Wesley's  connection  : — "  I  desire  you  will  call  at  the 
Bank*  as  often  as  you  have  opportunity.  An  occasional 
exhortation  from  you  or  your  fellow  labourer,  at  the 
Bank,  Dale,  will  be  esteemed  a  favour ;  and  I  hope 
that  my  stepping,  as  Providence  directs,  to  any  of  your 
places  (leaving  to  you  the  management  of  the  societies) 
will  be  deemed  no  encroachment.  In  short  we  need  not 
make  two  parties :  I  know  but  one  heaven  below,  and 
that  is  Jesus'  love  ;  let  us  both  go  and  abide  in  it,  and 
when  we  have  gathered  as  many  as  we  can  to  go  with 
us,  too  many  will  still  stay  behind."  May27, 1766,hesays 
to  a  friend : — "  The  coming  of  Mr.  Wesley's  preachers 

•  A  place  about  five  miles  from  his  parish,  on  which  he  had  be- 
stowed much  labour,  and  where  he  had  gathered  a  small  society. 


1(M 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


into  my  parish  gives  me  no  uneasiness.  As  I  am  sensi- 
ble that  every  body  does  better,  and  of  course  is  more  ac- 
ceptable than  myself,  I  should  be  sorry  to  deprive  any 
one  of  a  blessing ;  and  I  rejoice  that  the  work  of  God 
goes  on  by  any  instrument  or  in  any  place." 

41.  Nor  did  he  refuse  the  help  even  of  such  as  differ- 
ed from  him  in  judgment,  and  that  as  to  points  which 
have  been  always  thought,  in  the  Christian  Church,  of 
considerable  importance,  supposing  he  had  reason  to 
think  that  they  loved  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity. 
It  is  well  known  that  he  was  firmly  established  in  the 
belief  of  the  doctrine  of  general  redemption ;  yet  he 
was  glad  to  receive  any  pious  minister  of  a  contrary  sen- 
timent, and  to  give  him  an  opportunity  of  calling  sinners 
to  repentance  in  his  parish.  This  appears  from  the  fol- 
lowing letter  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  George  Whitefield,  dated 
Madeley,  May  18,  1767,  which  speaks  of  Capt.  Scott  as 
having  preached  at  Madeley,  on  Mr.  Fletcher's  invita- 
tion, and  urges  Mr.  Whitefield  to  visit  them  also  for  the 
same  purpose.  I  insert  this  letter  here,  because  it  is  a 
striking  picture  of  the  state  of  his  mind  at  this  time,  and 
breathes  that  spirit  of  humility,  benevolence,  and  zeal, 
for  which  he  was  so  conspicuous  through  his  whole  life. 

"Rev.  and  Dear  Sir, — I  am  confounded  when  I  re- 
ceive a  letter  from  you ;  present  and  eternal  contempt 
from  Christ  and  all  his  members  is  what  I  deserve.  A 
sentence  of  death  is  my  due  ;  but  instead  of  it,  I  am 
favoured  with  lines  of  love.  God  write  a  thousand,  for 
them,  upon  your  own  heart !  and  help  you  to  read,  with 
still  more  triumphant  and  humbler  demonstrations  of 
gratitude,  redeeming  love,  so  deeply  engraven  upon  the 
palms  of  our  Saviour's  hands,  and  to  assist  many  thou 
sands  more  to  spell  out  the  mysterious  words  ! 

"  Your  mentioning  my  poor  ministrations  among  youi 
congregation  opens  again  a  wound  of  shame  that  was  but 
half  healed.  I  feel  the  need  of  asking  God,  you,  and 
your  hearers,  pardon  for  weakening  the  glorious  matter 
of  the  Gospel,  by  my  wretched  broken  manner ;  and 
spoiling  the  heavenly  power  of  it,  by  the  uncleanness 
of  my  heart  and  lips.  I  should  be  glad  to  go  and  be 
your  curate  some  time  this  year ;  but  I  see  no  opening, 
nor  the  least  prospect  of  any.  "What  between  the  dead 
and  the  living,  a  parish  ties  one  down  more  than  a  wife. 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


103 


If  I  could  go  anywhere  this  year  it  should  be  to  York- 
shire, to  accompany  Lady  Huntingdon,  according  to  a 
design  that  I  had  half  formed  last  year;  but  I  fear  that 
I  shall  be  debarred  even  from  this.  I  set  out,  God  will- 
ing, to-morrow  morning  forTrevecka,  to  meet  her  lady- 
ship there,  and  to  show  her  the  way  to  Madeley,  where 
she  proposes  to  stay  three  or  four  days,  in  her  way  to 
Derbyshire.  What  chaplain  she  will  have  there,  I  know 
not;  God  will  provide.  I  rejoice  that  though  you  are 
sure  of  heaven,  you  have  still  a  desire  to  inherit  the 
earth,  by  being  a  pcace-maher.  Somehow  you  will  en- 
joy the  blessing  that  others  may  possibly  refuse. 

"  Last  Sunday  sevennight,  Captain  Scolt  preached  to 
my  congregation  a  sermon  which  was  more  blessed, 
though  preached  only  upon  my  horseblock,  than  a  hun- 
dred of  those  I  preach  in  the  pulpit.  I  invited  him  to 
come  and  treat  her  ladyship  next  Sunday  with  another, 
now  the  place  is  consecrated.  If  you  should  ever  favour 
Shropshire  with  your  presence,  you  shall  have  the  cap- 
tain's or  the  parson's  pulpit  at  your  option.  Many  ask 
me  whether  you  will  not  come  to  have  some  fruit  here 
also ;  what  must  I  answer  them  ?  I,  and  many  more 
complain  of  a  stagnation  of  the  work.  What  must  we 
do  ?    Every  thing  buds  and  blossoms  about  us,  yet  our 

winter  is  not  over.    I  thought  Mr.  N  ,  who  hath 

been  three  weeks  in  Shropshire,  would  have  brought 
the  turtle  dove  along  with  him;  but  I  could  not  prevail 
upon  him  to  come  to  this  poor  Capernaum.  I  think  I 
hardly  ever  met  his  fellow  for  a  judicious  spirit.  Still, 
what  bath  God  done  in  him  and  me  ?  I  am  out  of  hell, 
and  mine  eyes  have  seen  also  something  of  his  salva- 
tion ;  though  I  must  and  do  gladly  yield  to  him  and  all  my 
brethren,  yet  I  must  and  will  contend  that  my  being  in 
the  way  to  heaven  makes  me  as  rich  a  monument  of 
mercy  as  he  or  any  of  them.  O  that  I  may  feel  the 
wonderful  effect  of  the  patience  that  is  manifested  to- 
ward me  !  Lord,  break  me,  and  make  me  a  vessel  capa- 
ble of  bearing  thy  name,  and  the  sweet  6avour  of  it,  to 
my  fellow  sinners  !  Ask  this  for  me,  dear  sir,  and  pre- 
sent my  Christian  respects  to  Mr&.  Whitefield,  Mr. 
Hardy  and  Keen,  Mr.  Joyce,  Crooni,  and  Wright.  Tell 
Mr.  Keen  I  am  a  letter  in  his  debt,  and  postponed  writ- 
ing till  I  have  had  such  a  sight  of  Christ  as  to  breathe 


104 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


his  love  through  every  line.  I  am,  Rev.  and  dear  sir, 
with,  blessed  be  God,  a  measure  of  sincere  affection  ami 
respect,  your  willing,  though  halting  and  unworthy  ser- 
vant, J.  F." 

42.  The  inexpressible  concern  which  he  felt  for  the 
enlargement  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  the  salvation 
of  souls,  induced  him  not  only  to  speak  concerning  Di  vim; 
things  in  all  companies,  where  he  had  any  prospect  of 
doing  good  thereby  ;  but  also,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
to  write  spiritual  letters  from  time  to  time  to  sundry  per- 
sons, friends,  or  strangers,  who  appeared  to  need  advice, 
reproof,  or  consolation,  and  especially  to  such  as  were 
afflicted.  The  reader  may  find  many  of  these  in  that 
small  collection  of  his  letters  before  mentioned,  published 
first  in  1791,  and  since  then  frequently  republished.  All 
these  letters  are  excellent,  especially  those  which  are 
addressed  to  persons  under  affliction.  For  the  sake  of 
such  as  have  not  the  volume  at  hand,  and  to  give  the 
reader  a  farther  specimen  of  his  manner  of  writing  to  his 
friends,  particularly  such  as  had  laid  him  under  obliga- 
tions by  their  favours,  or  were  in  a  state  of  affliction,  I 
shall  here  insert  two  of  his  letters  written  about  this 
time.  To  one  from  whom  he  seems  to  have  received  a 
present  of  some  articles  of  wearing  apparel,  he  writes 
as  follows : — 

"  My  Very  Dear  Friend, — The  providence  of  our 
good  God  brought  me  safe  here  last  Thursday,  loaded 
with  a  sense  of  your  excessive  kindness  and  my  excess- 
ive unworthiness  of  it.  Your  Araunahlike  spirit  shames 
and  distresses  me :  I  am  not  quite  satisfied  about  your 
evasions  with  respect  to  the  bill ;  and  though  I  grant  it 
more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive,  I  think  you  should 
not  be  so  selfish  as  to  engross  all  that  blessedness  to 
yourself.  Nevertheless  I  drop  my  upbraidings,  not  to 
lose  that  time  in  them  which  I  should  save  to  thank  you, 
and  to  praise  Jesus.  I  thank  you,  then,  for  all  your 
favours,  but  above  all  for  your  secret  prayers  for  a  poor, 
unworthy,  unprofitable  wretch,  who  deserves  neither  the 
name  of  a  minister,  nor  of  a  Christian.  If  you  are  so 
kind  as  to  continue  them,  (which  I  earnestly  beg  you 
will,)  I  beseech  you  pray  that  I  may  have  power  to  tarry 
at  the  footstool  of  Divine  mercy  for  a  day  of  pentecost 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


105 


till  I  am  endued  with  power  from  on  high  for  the  work 
of  the  ministry  and  the  blessings  of  Christianity. 

"  I  know  not  whether  I  am  wrong  iu  this  respect,  but 
I  expect  a  power  from  on  high  to  make  me  what  I  am 
not — an  instrument  to  show  forth  the  praises  of  the  Re- 
deemer, and  to  do  some  good  to  the  souls  of  my  fellow 
creatures.  Until  this  power  come,  it  appears  to  me  that 
I  spend  my  paltry  strength  in  vain,  and  that  I  might 
almost  as  well  sit  still.  But  I  know  I  must  keep  row- 
ing, though  the  wind  be  contrary,  till  Jesus  come  walk- 
ing upon  the  waters,  though  it  were  in  the  last  watch 
of  the  night. 

"You  see  that  while  you  praise  on  the  top  of  the 
mountain,  I  hang  my  untuned  harp  on  the  mournful  wil- 
low at  the  bottom.  But  Jesus  was  in  Gethsemane  as 
well  as  on  Tabor,  and  while  he  blesses  you,  he  sympa- 
thizes with  me.  But  this  is  speaking  too  much  about 
self ;  good  and  bad  self  must  be  equally  denied,  and  He 
that  is  '  the  fulness  of  Him  who  fills  all  in  all,'  must  fill 
my  thoughts,  my  desires,  my  letters,  and  my  all.  Come, 
then,  Lord,  come  and  drop  into  our  souls,  as  the  dew 
into  Gideon's  fleece  ;  drop  thy  blessing  on  these  lines, 
and  may  thy  sweet  name,  Jesus,  Emanuel,  God  with 
us,  be  as  ointment  and  rich  perfumes  poured  upon  my 
dear  sister's  soul !  Spread  thy  wings  of  love  over  her  ; 
reward  her  a  hundredfold  in  temporal  and  spiritual  bless- 
ings, for  the  temporal  and  spiritual  mercies  she  hath 
bestowed  upon  me  as  thy  servant ;  and  vouchsafe  to 
make  and  keep  me  such  ! 

"  I  want  you  to  write  to  me  what  you  think  of  the  life 
of  faith,  and  whether  you  breathe  it  without  interrupt 
tion  ;  whether  you  never  leave  that  rich  palace — Christ, 
to  return  to  that  dungeon,  self;  what  your  feelings  are 
when  faith  is  at  its  lowest  ebb,  and  when  it  acts  most 
powerfully  ?  I  should  be  glad  also  if  you  would  answer 
these  questions,  What  views  have  you  of  another  world  ? 
What  sense  have  you  of  the  nearness  of  Christ  ?  What 
degree  of  fellowship  with  the  souls  nearest  your  heart? 
What  particular  intimations  of  the  will  of  God  in  intri- 
cate affairs  and  material  steps  ?  and  whether  you  can 
reconcile  the  life  of  faith  with  one  wrong  temper  in  the 
heart  ? 

«'  If  you  are  so  good  as  to  answer  these  questions  at 


106 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


large,  you  will  oblige  me  more  than  if  you  were  to  send 
me  two  hundred  waistcoats  and  as  many  pair  of  stock- 
ings. Jesus  is  life,  love,  power,  truth,  and  righteous- 
ness. Jesus  is  ours  ;  yea,  he  is  over  all,  through  all, 
and  in  us  all.  May  we  so  fathom  this  mystery,  and  so 
evidence  the  reality  of  it,  that  many  may  see,  and  fear, 
and  turn  to  the  Lord  !  My  kind  love  and  thanks  wait 
upon  your  sisters,  &c.  Farewell  in  Jesus.  Pray  for 
your  obliged  unworthy  servant,  J.  F." 

To  Miss  Ireland,  who  was  under  affliction,  and  ap- 
proaching fast  toward  her  great  and  final  change,  his 
words  are  : — 

"  December  5,  1768. 

"  My  Dear  Afflicted  Friend, — I  hear  you  are  re- 
turned from  the  last  journey  you  took  in  search  of  bodily 
health.  Your  heavenly  Father  sees  fit  to  deny  it  yon, 
not  because  he  hateth  you,  {for  whom  the  Lord  loveth 
he  chasteneth,)  but  because  health  and  life  might  be  fatal 
snares  to  your  soul,  out  of  which  you  could  not  escape, 
but  by  tedious  illness  and  an  early  death.  Who  knows, 
also,  whether  by  all  you  have  suffered,  and  still  suffer, 
our  gracious  Lord  does  not  intend  to  kill  you  to  the  flesh 
and  to  the  world,  and  both  to  you?  Besides,  our  hearts 
are  so  stupid,  and  our  insensibility  is  so  great,  that  the 
Father  of  our  spirit  sees  it  necessary  to  put  some  of  his 
sharpest  and  longest  thorns  into  our  flesh  to  make  us  go 
to  our  dear  Jesus  for  the  balmy  graces  of  his  Spirit. 

"  I  believe  some  are  driven  out  of  all  the  refuges  of 
crafty  and  indolent  nature  only  by  the  nearest  and  last 
approaches  of  that  faithful  minister  and  servant  of  Christ 
— Death.  Of  this  I  had  a  remarkable  instance  no  longer 
ago  than  last  Monday,  when  God  took  to  himself  one 
of  my  poor  afflicted  parishioners,  a  boy  of  fifteen  years 
of  age,  who  was  turned  out  of  the  infirmary  two  years 
ago  as  incurable.  From  that  time  he  grew  weaker  every 
day  by  the  running  of  a  wound  ;  but  his  poor  soul  did 
not  gather  strength.  In  many  respects  one  would  have 
thought  his  afflictions  were  lost  upon  him.  He  seemed 
to  rest  more  in  his  sufferings,  and  in  his  patience  under 
them,  than  in  the  Saviour's  blood  and  righteousness. 
Being  worn  to  a  skeleton,  he  took  to  his  deathbed  ; 
where  I  found  him  the  week  before  last  with  his  candle 
burning  in  the  socket,  and  no  oil  seemingly  in  the  ves- 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


107 


*ei.  I  spent  an  hour  in  setting  before  him  the  greatness 
of  his  guilt  in  this  respect,  that  he  had  been  so  long 
under  the  rod  of  God,  and  had  not  been  whipped  out  of 
his  careless  unbelief  to  the  bosom  of  Jesus  Christ.  He 
fell  under  the  conviction,  confessed  that  particular  guilt, 
and  began  to  call  on  the  Lord  with  all  the  earnestness 
his  dying  frame  would  allow.  This  was  on  Wednes- 
day, and  on  the  Wednesday  following,  the  God  who  de- 
livers those  that  are  appointed  to  die,  set  one  of  his  feet 
upon  the  Rock,  and  the  next  Sunday  the  other.  He  had 
chiefly  used  that  short  petition  of  the  Lord's  prayer,  Thy 
kinsrdom  come  ;  and  spent  his  last  hours  in  testifying, 
as  his  strength  would  allow,  that  the  kingdom  was  come, 
and  he  was  going  to  the  King,  to  whom  he  invited  his 
joyful  mournful  mother  to  make  the  best  of  her  way 
after  him.  Five  or  six  days  before  his  death,  my  wicked, 
unbelieving  heart  might  have  said,  To  what  purpose 
hath  God  afflicted. so  long  and  so  heavily  this  poor 
worm?  But  the  Lord  showed  that  he  had  been  all  that 
while  driving  the  spear  of  consideration  and  conviction, 
till  at  last  it  touched  him  in  a  sensible  part,  and  made 
him  cry  to  the  Saviour  in  earnest.  And  who  ever  called 
upon  him  in  vain  ?  No  one.  Nod  even  that  poor  indo- 
lent collier  boy,  who  for  two  years  would  not  so  much 
as  cross  the  way  to  hear  me  preach.  Yet  how  good  was 
the  Lord  !  because  his  body  was  too  weak  to  bear  any 
terrors  in  his  mind,  he  showed  him  mercy  without.  The 
moment  I  heard  him  pray,  and  saw  him  feel  after  a  Sa- 
viour, my  fears  on  his  account  vanished  ;  and  though  he 
had  not  been  suffered  to  testify  so  clearly  of  God's  king- 
dom, yet  I  should  have  had  a  joyful  hope  that  God  had 
taken  him  home. 

"  Like  the  poor  youth  and  myself,  you  have  but  one 
enemy,  my  dear  friead — an  indolent,  unbelieving  heart; 
but  the  Lord  hath  driven  it  to  a  corner,  to  make  you  cry 
to  Him  who  hath  beea  waiting  at  the  door  all  these  years 
of  trouble,  to  bring  you  pardon,  peace,  and  eternal  life, 
in  the  midst  of  the  pangs  of  bodily  death.  Jesus  is 
his  name.  Salvation  and  love  are  his  nature.  He  is  the 
Father  of  eternity — your  Father  of  course.  All  the  love 
that  is  in  Mr.  Ireland's  breast  is  nothing  to  the  abyss 
of  love  that  is  in  your  Creator's  heart.  A  mother  may 
forget  her  sucking  child,  but  I  will  not  forget  thee, 


108 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


says  he,  to  every  poor  distressed  soul  that  claims  his 
help. 

"  O  fear  not,  my  friend,  to  say,  I  will  arise  and  go  to 
this  Father,  though  I  have  sinned  greatly  against  Hea- 
ven, and  in  his  sight.  Lo,  he  rises,  and  runs  to  meet 
and  embrace  you.  He  hath  already  met  you  in  the  vir- 
gin's womb  ;  there  he  did  so  cleave  to  your  flesh  and 
spirit,  that  he  assumed  both,  and  wears  them  as  a  pledge 
of  love  to  you.  Claim  in  return,  claim  as  you  can,  his 
blood  and  Spirit.  Both  are  now  the  property  of  every 
dying  sinner  that  is  not  above  receiving,  by  faith,  the 
unspeakable  gift. 

"  Your  father  has  crossed  the  sea  for  you.  Jesus  has 
done  more.  He  hath  crossed  the  abyss  that  lies  between 
heaven  and  earth,  between  the  Creator  and  the  creature. 
He  has  waded  through  the  sea  of  his  tears,  blood,  and 
agonies,  not  to  take  you  to  the  physician  at  Montpelier, 
but  to  become  your  Physician  and  Saviour  himself,  to 
support  you  under  all  your  bodily  tortures,  to  sanctify 
all  your  extremities,  and  to  heal  your  soul  by  his  mul- 
tiplied stupes.  Your  father  has  spared  no  expense  to 
restore  you  to  health  ;  but  Jesus,  who  wants  you  in  your 
prime,  hath  spared  no  blood  in  his  veins  to  wash  you 
from  your  sins,  write  your  pardon,  and  seal  your  title 
to  glory. 

"  O  my  friend,  delay  not  cheerfully  to  surrender  your- 
self to  this  good  Shepherd.  He  will  gladly  lay  you  on 
the  arm  of  his  power,  torn  as  you  are  with  the  bruises 
of  sin  and  disease,  and  will  carry  you  triumphantly  to 
his  heavenly  sheepfold.  Look  not  at  your  sins  without 
beholding  his  blood  and  righteousness.  Eye  not  death 
but  to  behold  through  that  black  door  your  gracious 
Saviour,  saying,  Fear  not,  O  thou  of  little  faith,  where- 
fore dost  thou  doubt  ?  Consider  not  eternity  but  as  the 
palace  where  you  are  going  to  enter  with  the  Bride- 
groom of  souls,  and  rest  from  all  your  sins  and  miseries. 
View  not  the  condemning  law  of  God,  but  as  made 
honourable  by  Him  who  was  a  curse  for  you,  and  bore 
the  malediction  of  the  law,  by  hanging,  bleeding,  and 
dying,  on  the  cursed  tree  in  your  place.  If  you  think 
of  hell,  let  it  be  to  put  you  in  mind  to  believe  that  th( 
blood  of  God  incarnate  hath  quenched  its  devouring 
flames.    If  you  have  no  comfort,  mistrust  not  Jesus  on 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


109 


that  account;  on  the  contrary,  take  advantage  from  it 
to  give  greater  glory  to  God  by  believing,  as  Abraham, 
in  hope  against  hope.  And  let  this  be  your  greatest 
comfort,  that  Jesus,  who  had  all  faith  and  patience,  cried 
for  you  in  his  dying  moments,  My  God,  my  God,  why 
hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?  As  your  strength  will  bear 
exertion,  and  his  grace  apprehended  will  allow,  surren- 
der yourself  constantly  to  him  as  the  purchase  of  his 
blood,  and  invite  him  earnestly  to  you  as  a  poor  worm 
perishing  without  him.  In  this  simple  Gospel  way  wait 
the  Lord's  leisure,  and  he  will  comfort  your  heart.  He 
will  make  all  his  goodness  to  pass  before  you  here,  or 
take  you  hence  to  show  you,  what  you  could  not  bear  in 
flesh  and  blood,  the  direct  beams  of  the  uncreated  beauty 
of  your  heavenly  Spouse. 

"I  hope  you  take  care  to  have  little  or  nothing  else 
mentioned  to  and  about  you,  but  his  praises  and  pro- 
mises. Your  tongue  and  your  ears  are  going  to  be  silent 
in  the  grave  ;  now  or  never  use  them  to  hear  and  speak 
good  of  his  name.  Comfort  your  weeping  friends.  Re- 
prove the  backsliders.  Encourage  seekers.  Water, 
and  you  shall  be  watered.  Death  upon  you  makes  you, 
through  Christ,  a  mother  in  Israel.  Arise,  as  Deborah, 
Remember  the  praying,  believing,  preaching,  though 
dying  thief;  and  be  not  afraid  to  drop  a  word  for  Him 
who  openeth  a  fountain  of  blood  for  you  in  his  dying, 
tortured  body.  Suffer,  live,  die  at  his  feet — and  you  will 
soon  revive,  sing,  and  reign  in  his  bosom  for  evermore. 
Farewell  in  the  Conqueror  of  death  and  Prince  of  life. 

"J.  F." 

43.  The  pious  lady  addressed  in  the  preceding  letter, 
died,  it  appears,  soon  after,  and  we  find  Mr.  Fletcher,  in 
March  following,  comforting  her  father  on  the  event  of 
her  death,  and  of  the  affliction  of  Mrs.  Ireland  and  a 
sister.  Indeed  he  had  most  tenderly  sympathized  with 
him  in  his  sorrow  during  her  affliction,  and  laboured  to 
prepare  his  mind,  by  his  consolatory  letters  and  conver- 
sation, for  the  change  which,  it  was  but  too  evident,  was 
daily  approaching. 

"  Uncertain  as  I  am,"  says  he,  the  July  preceding, 
"  whether  your  daughter  is  yet  alive,  or  whether  the 
Lord  hath  called  her  from  this  vale  of  darkness  and 
tears,  I  know  not  what  to  say  to  you  on  the  subject,  but 


110 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


this,  that  our  heavenly  Father  appoints  all  things  for  the 
best.  If  her  days  of  suffering  are  prolonged,  it  is  to 
honour  her  with  a  conformity  to  the  crucified  Jesus  ;  if 
they  are  shortened,  she  will  have  drunk  all  her  cup  of 
affliction;  and  I  flatter  myself  that  she  has  found, at  the 
bottom  of  it,  not  the  bitterness  and  the  gall  of  her  sins, 
but  the  honey  and  wine  of  our  Divine  Saviour's  right- 
eousness, and  the  consolations  of  his  Spirit. 

"  I  had  lately  some  views  of  death,  and  it  appeared  to 
me  in  the  most  brilliant  colours.  What  is  it  to  die,  but 
to  open  our  eyes  after  the  disagreeable  dream  of  this 
life,  after  the  black  sleep  in  which  we  are  buried  on  this 
earth  ?  It  is  to  break  the  prison  of  corruptible  flesh  and 
blood,  into  which  sin  hath  cast  us ;  to  draw  aside  the 
curtain,  to  cast  off  the  material  veil  which  prevents  us 
from  seeing  the  supreme  Beauty  and  Goodness  face  to 
face.  It  is  to  quit  our  polluted  and  tattered  raiment,  to 
be  invested  with  robes  of  honour  and  glory;  and  to  be- 
hold the  Sun  of  righteousness  in  brightness  without  an 
interposing  cloud.  O  my  dear  friend,  how  lovely  is 
death,  when  we  look  at  it  in  Jesus  Christ !  To  die  is  one 
of  the  greatest  privileges  of  the  Christian. 

"  If  Miss  Ireland  is  still  living,  tell  her  a  thousand 
times  that  Jesus  is  the  resurrection  and  the  life  ;  that  he 
hath  vanquished  and  disarmed  death ;  that  he  hath 
brought  life  and  immortality  to  light ;  and  that  all  things 
are  ours,  whether  life  or  death,  eternity  or  time.  These 
are  those  great  truths  upon  which  she  ought  to  risk,  or 
rather  to  repose  her  soul  with  full  assurance.  Every 
thing  is  shadow  and  a  lie  in  comparison  of  the  reality 
of  the  Gospel.  If  your  daughter  be  dead,  believe  in 
Jesus,  and  you  shall  find  her  again  in  Him  who  rills  all 
in  all,  who  encircles  the  material  and  spiritual  world  in 
his  arms ; — in  the  immense  bosom  of  his  Divinity. 

"  I  have  not  time  to  write  to  Mrs.  Ireland  ;  but  I  en- 
treat her  to  keep  her  promise,  and  to  inform  me  what 
victories  she  has  gained  over  the  world,  the  flesh,  and 
sin.  Surely  when  a  daughter  is  dead  or  dying,  it  is 
high  time  for  a  father  and  a  mother  to  die  to  all  things 
below,  and  aspire,  in  good  earnest,  to  that  eternal  life 
which  God  has  given  us  in  Jesus  Christ.  Adieu,  my 
dear  friend.    Yours,  J.  F." 

Again,  October  14,  he  writes: — "If  the  last  efforts  of 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


HI 


the  physicians  fail  with  respect  to  Miss  Ireland,  it  will 
at  least  be  a  consolation  to  you  to  know  that  they  have 
been  tried.  When  the  last  reed  shall  break  under  her 
hand,  that  will  be  the  great  signal  to  her  to  embrace  the 
cross  and  the  Crucified,  the  Tree  of  life  and  the  fruit  it 
bears,  which  give  everlasting  health  and  vigour.  When 
we  consider  these  things  with  an  evangelical  eye,  we 
discover  that  every  thing  dies.  Things  visible  are  all 
transitory  ;  but  invisible  ones  abide  for  ever.  If  Christ 
is  our  life  and  our  resurrection,  it  is  of  little  importance 
whether  we  die  now  or  thirty  years  hence ;  and  if  we 
die  without  embracing  him,  by  dying  now  we  shall  have 
abused  his  mercies  thirty  years  less  than  if  we  had  lived 
so  many  years  longer.  Everything  turns  out  well,  both 
life  and  death,  our  own  and  that  of  those  who  are  near 
to  us." 

After  receiving  tidings  of  her  death,  he  says: — 
"  Mv  Dear  Friend, — The  Lord  is  desirous  of  making 
you  a  true  disciple  of  his  dear  Son,  the  man  of  sor- 
rows, by  sending  you  affliction  upon  affliction.  A  sister 
and  a  wife,  who  appear  to  hasten  to  the  grave,  in  which 
you  have  so  lately  laid  your  only  daughter,  place  you  in 
circumstances  of  uncommon  affliction.  But  in  this  sec 
the  finger  of  Him  who  works  all  in  all,  and  who  com- 
mands us  to  forsake  all  to  follow  him.  Believe  in  him  ; 
believe  that  he  does  all  for  the  best,  and  that  all  shall 
work  for  good  to  those  who  love  him,  and  you  shall  see 
the  salvation  of  God  :  and  with  your  temptations  and 
trials  he  shall  open  a  door  of  deliverance  for  you  and 
yours.  His  goodness  to  your  daughter  ought  to  encou- 
rage your  faith  and  confidence  for  Mrs.  Ireland.  Offer 
her  upon  the  altar,  and  you  shall  see  that,  if  it  be  best 
for  her  and  you,  his  grace  will  suspend  the  blow  which 
threatens  you." 

Two  months  afterward  he  adds  : — "  I  sympathize  with 
you  with  all  my  heart,  and  I  pray  that  you  may  have 
patience  and  wisdom  proportioned  to  your  difficulties. 
You  must  take  up  your  cross,  and  pray  in  secret,  like  a 
man  whose  earthly  cisterns  are  broken  on  every  side, 
and  who  hath  need  of  consolation  from  feeling  the  fount- 
ain of  living  water  springing  up  in  his  soul  unto  eternal 
life.  I  have  every  moment  need  to  follow  the  advice  I 
give  to  you  ;  but  my  carnal  mind  makes  strong  resist- 


112 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


ance.  I  must  enter  into  life  by  death  :  I  must  be  cruci- 
fied on  the  cross  of  Christ  before  I  can  live  by  the  power 
of  his  resurrection.  The  Lord  give  us  grace  to  die  to 
ourselves ;  for  it  is  not  enough  to  die  to  our  relatives. 
Blessed  indeed  is  that  union  with  Jesus  Christ  by  which 
a  believer  can  cast  upon  that  Rock  of  ages,  not  only  his 
burdens,  but  himself — the  heaviest  burden  of  all.  O 
Lord,  give  us  power  to  believe  with  that  faith  which 
works  by  the  prayer  of  confidence  and  love ! 

"  I  am,  &c,  J.  F." 

Thus  this  man  of  God  laboured  to  be  useful  in  every 
possible  way.  By  preaching,  conversing,  writing  ;  by 
instructing,  reproving,  encouraging,  exhorting ;  by  warn- 
ing and  beseeching  ;  by  word  and  deed  ;  by  acting  and 
suffering;  and  especially  by  letting  his  light  shine  be- 
fore men,  and  exhibiting  to  their  view  an  example  of 
sincere  and  genuine  piety  and  virtue,  he  endeavoured, 
with  the  most  ardent  zeal  and  unwearied  diligence,  to 
advance  the  honour  and  interest  of  his  Divine  Master. 
At  home  and  abroad,  in  company  and  alone,  in  public 
and  in  private,  he  ceased  not  to  keep  in  view  and  prose- 
cute his  great  and  important  design. 

But  although,  as  will  readily  be  allowed  by  every  un- 
prejudiced reader  of  this  narrative,  "  he  (Gilpin'' s  Notes) 
was  far  more  abundant  in  his  public  labours  than  the 
greater  part  of  his  companions  in  the  holy  ministry ; 
yet,"  as  Mr.  Gilpin  justly  observes,  "  these  bore  but 
little  proportion  to  those  internal  exercises  of  prayer 
and  supplication  to  which  he  was  wholly  given  up  in 
private.  The  former,  of  necessity,  were  frequently  dis- 
continued, but  the  latter  were  almost  uninterruptedly 
maintained  from  hour  to  hour.  He  lived  in  the  spirit 
of  prayer;  and  whatever  employments  he  was  engaged 
in,  this  spirit  was  constantly  manifested  through  them 
all.  Without  this  he  neither  formed  any  design,  nor 
entered  upon  any  duty:  without  this,  he  neither  read, 
nor  conversed  ;  without  this,  he  neither  visited,  nor  re- 
ceived a  visitant. 

"  Before  I  was  of  sufficient  age,"  proceeds  the  la9t 
mentioned  reverend  author,  "  to  take  holy  orders,  I 
thankfully  embraced  the  offered  privilege  of  spending  a 
few  months  beneath  the  roof  of  this  exemplary  man  to 
whom  I  was  at  that  time  an  entire  stranger  ;  and  I  well 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


113 


remember  how  solemn  an  impression  was  made  upon 
my  heart  by  the  manner  in  which  he  received  me.  He 
met  me  at  his  door,  with  a  look  of  inexpressible  benig- 
nity ;  and  conducting  me  by  the  hand  into  his  house, 
intimated  a  desire  of  leading  me  immediately  into  the 
presence  of  that  God  to  whom  the  government  of  his 
little  family  was  ultimately  submitted.  Instantly  he  fell 
upon  his  knees,  and  poured  out  an  earnest  prayer  that 
my  present  visit  might  be  rendered  both  advantageous 
and  comfortable,  that  the  secret  of  the  Lord  might  rest 
upon  our  common  tabernacle,  and  that  our  society  might 
be  crowned  by  an  intimate  fellowship  with  that  promised 
Immanuel  in  whom  all  the  families  of  the  earth  are  call- 
ed to  inherit  a  blessing.  This  may  serve  as  a  specimen 
of  the  manner  in  which  he  was  accustomed  to  receive 
his  guests. 

45.  "In  his  social  prayers  he  paid  but  little  attention 
to  those  rules  which  have  been  laid  down  with  respect 
to  the  composition  and  order  of  these  devotional  exer- 
cises. As  the  Spirit  ffave  him  utterance,  so  he  made  his 
requests  known  unto  God.  But,  while  he  prayed  with 
the  Spirit,  he  prayed  with  the  understanding-  also.  His 
words  flowed  spontaneously,  and  without  any  premedi- 
tation, yet  always  wonderfully  adapted  to  the  occasion. 
Nothing  impertinent,  artificial,  or  superfluous,  appeared 
in  his  addresses  to  God  :  and  while  he  presented  those 
addresses,  there  was  a  solemnity  and  animation  in  his 
manner  which  tended  not  only  to  edify,  but  to  quicken 
and  exalt  the  soul.  There  have  been  seasons  of  suppli- 
cation in  which  he  appeared  to  be  carried  out  far  beyond 
the  ordinary  limits  of  devotion  ;  when,  like  his  Lord 
upon  the  mount,  while  he  has  continued  to  pour  out  his 
mighty  prayer,  the  fashion  of  his  countenance  has  been 
changed,  and  his  face  has  appeared  as  the  face  of  an 
angel.  None,  except  those  who  have  frequently  joined 
with  him  in  this  enlivening  duty,  can  have  any  just  con- 
ception of  the  manner  in  which  he  performed  it.  They 
who  have  enjoyed  this  privilege  have  seen  and  felt  what 
is  not  to  be  described  :  and  to  others  it  can  only  be  said 
that  his  prayer  was  the  prayer  of  faith,  always  fervent, 
often  effectual,  and  invariably  a  mingled  flow  of  suppli- 
cation and  gratitude,  humility  and  confidence,  resigna- 
tion and  fervour,  adoration  and  love. 


114 


LIFE  OF  UEV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


46.  "  By  the  ardour  of  his  social  prayers,  some  judg- 
ment may  be  formed  of  his  secret  supplications  :  but  of 
his  frequent  vehement  struggles,  and  unutterable  breath- 
ings, in  these  private  exercises,  He  alone  can  judge  -who 
seeth  in  secret.  His  deepest  and  most  sensible  commu- 
nications with  God  were  enjoyed  in  those  hours  when 
the  door  of  his  closet  was  shut  against  human  creatures 
as  well  as  human  cares.  And  though  he  rejoiced  to  lift 
up  his  hands  in  company  with  his  friends,  yet  when  his 
heart  was  at  any  time  peculiarly  inflamed  with  desire, 
or  pressed  witli  affliction,  he  would  say  to  his  friends, 
as  Christ  to  his  disciples,  Sit  ye  here,  while  I  go  and 
pray  yonder.  His  closet  was  the  favourite  retirement, 
to  which  he  constantly  retreated,  whenever  his  public 
duties  allowed  him  a  season  of  leisure.  Here  lie  was 
privily  hidden,  as  in  the  presence  of  God.  Here  he 
would  either  patiently  wait  for,  or  joyfully  triumph  in 
the  loving  kindness  of  the  Lord.  Here  he  would  plunge 
himself  into  the  depths  of  humiliation  ;  and  from  hence, 
at  other  seasons,  as  from  another  Pisgah,  he  would  take 
a  large  survey  of  the  vast  inheritance  which  is  reserved 
for  the  saints.  Here  he  would  ratify  his  solemn  engage- 
ments to  God  ;  and  here,  like  the  good  King  Hezekiah, 
he  would  spread  the  various  circumstances  of  his  people 
at  the  feet  of  their  common  Lord.  In  all  cases  of  diffi- 
culty he  would  retire  to  this  consecrated  place  to  ask 
counsel  of  the  Most  High  ;  and  here,  in  times  of  uncom- 
mon distress,  he  has  continued  during  whole  nights  in 
prayer  before  God. 

47.  "At  one  period  of  his  life  he  was  brought  into 
such  an  intricate  situation  that  he  was  wholly  at  a  loss 
to  discover  what  God  required  at  his  hand  :  and  such 
was  the  difficulty  before  him.  that  the  opinions  of  his 
most  experienced  friends  could  afford  him  but  little  light 
with  respect  to  it.  In  this  state,  for  three  months  suc- 
cessively, he  spread  the  intricacies  of  his  case  before  the 
Judge  of  all  the  earth,  entreating  that  he  would  direct 
the  course  of  his  conduct,  by  the  order  of  his  providence, 
and  the  influence  of  his  Spirit.  His  request  was  con- 
tinued till  an  answer  was  obtained,  which  was  not  till 
the  wall  of  his  chamber  could  exhibit  a  proof  of  his  vehe- 
ment intercession;  that  part  of  it,  against  which  he  was 
accustomed  to  kneel,  appearing  deeply  stained  with  the 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


11S 


breath  he  had  spent  in  fervent  supplication  :  such  was 
the  ardour  of  his  spirit,  and  such  the  devotion  of  his 
heart !  The  above  circumstance  was  discovered  by  some 
about  him  who  were  well  acquainted  with  his  manner  in 
trying  situations. 

48.  "  His  preaching  was  perpetually  preceded,  accom- 
panied, and  succeeded  by  prayer.  Before  he  entered 
upon  the  performance  of  his  duty  he  requested  of  the 
great  Master  of  assemblies  a  subject  adapted  to  the  con- 
ditions of  his  people  ;  earnestly  soliciting  for  himself 
wisdom,  utterance,  and  power  ;  for  them  a  serious  frame, 
an  unprejudiced  mind,  and  a  retentive  heart.  This  ne- 
cessary preparation  for  the  profitable  performance  of  his 
ministerial  duties  was  of  longer  or  shorter  duration,  ac- 
cording to  his  peculiar  state  at  the  time  :  and  frequently 
he  could  form  an  accurate  judgment  of  the  effect  that 
would  be  produced  in  public  by  the  languor  or  enlarge- 
ment he  had  experienced  in  private.  The  spirit  of  prayer 
accompanied  him  from  the  closet  to  the  pulpit ;  and 
while  he  was  outwardly  employed  in  pressing  the  truth 
upon  his  hearers,  he  was  inwardly  engaged  in  pleading 
that  last  great  promise  of  his  unchangeable  Lord,  /  am 
with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world. 

"  From  the  great  congregation  he  again  withdrew  to 
his  sacred  retreat,  there  requesting  in  secret  that  a  bless- 
ing might  accompany  his  public  labours,  and  that  the 
seed  which  he  had  sown,  being  treasured  up  in  honest 
and  good  hearts,  might  sooner  or  later  become  abun- 
dantly fruitful. 

49.  "  While  it  is  here  recorded  that  this  faithful  ser- 
vant of  God  was  accustomed  to  pray  without  ceasing,  it 
must  be  noted,  at  the  same  time,  as  a  distinguishing  part 
of  his  character,  that  hi  every  thing  he  gave  thanks. 
His  heart  was  always  in  grateful  frame,  and  it  was  his 
chief  delight  to  honour  God  by  offering  him  thanks  and 
praise.  Frequently,  when  he  has  been  engaged  in  re- 
counting the  gracious  dealings  of  God  with  respect  to 
himself,  or  his  signal  favours  conferred  upon  the  Church, 
he  has  broken  out  in  a  strain  of  holy  rejoicing,  O  that 
men  would  therefore  praise  the  Lord  for  his  goodness, 
and  declare  the  wonders  that  he  doeth  for  the  children 
of  men  !  He  considered  every  unexpected  turn  of  pro- 
vidence as  a  manifestation  of  his  Father's  good  pleasure, 


116 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


and  discerned  causes  of  thanksgiving,  either  obvious  or 
latent,  in  every  occurrence.  Thus,  either  in  the  expec- 
tation, or  in  the  possession  of  promised  mercies,  he 
rejoiced  evermore.  The  immediate  causes  of  his  joy- 
were  manifold,  public  and  private,  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral ;  but  they  all  were  swallowed  up  in  the  advance- 
ment of  Christ's  kingdom  upon  earth.  This  he  con- 
sidered as  a  subject  of  universal  rejoicing,  and  for  this 
he  more  especially  desired  to  praise  the  name  of  God 
with  a  song,  and  to  magnify  it  with  thanksgiving. 

50.  "  As  he  has  justly  expressed  in  his  Portrait  of  St. 
Paul,  p.  103,  second  edition,  '  Pastors  who  pray  for  their 
flocks,  pray  not  in  vain.  Their  fervent  petitions  are 
heard,  sinners  are  converted,  the  faithful  are  edified,  and 
thanksgiving  is  shortly  joined  to  supplication.'  With 
respect  to  himself  it  was  abundantly  so.  The  seed  which 
he  had  watered  with  his  tears,  and  followed  with  his 
prayers,  produced  at  length  a  plentiful  harvest.  His 
ministry  was  attended  with  unusual  success,  and  a 
considerable  body  of  his  people  saluted  each  other  as 
brethren  in  Christ.  His  exultation  over  these,  in  their 
regenerate  estate,  was  equal  to  his  former  solicitude  on 
their  account ;  and  as  often  as  an  occasion  has  presented 
itself  of  leading  a  penitent  prodigal  into  the  household 
of  God,  his  carriage  has  been  marked  with  every  possible 
demonstration  of  joy.  Leading  the  returning  wanderer 
into  his  spiritual  family,  he  would  cry  out,  with  a  coun- 
tenance full  of  holy  triumph,  '  If  there  be  joy  in  the  pre- 
sence of  the  angels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that  re- 
pen  teth,  then  it  is  meet  that  we  should  rejoice  and  be 
glad  together  this  day,  for  this  my  son  was  dead  and  is 
alive  again,  he  was  lost  and  is  found.''  His  joy  was 
continually  receiving  some  accession  of  this  kind.  From 
year  to  year,  sinners  were  converted  from  the  error  of 
their  ways,  and  believers  were  built  up  in  their  most 
holy  faith  ;  while  he  appeared  among  them  as  a  happy 
father,  rejoicing  in  their  prosperity,  and  blessed  in  the 
blessings  of  his  spiritual  children. 

"  Such  were  the  different  states  of  earnest  prayer,  and 
joyful  praise,  with  which  this  evangelical  preacher  was 
deeply  acquainted,  and  which  mutually  preceded  and 
succeeded  each  other  in  his  Christian  experience. 

51.  "  It  was  observed  to  the  disgrace  of  the  ancient 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


117 


scribes,  that  they  bound  heavy  burdens  upon  others, 
which  they  themselves  refused  to  touch  with  one  of  their 
fingers  :  and  their  uncharitable  conduct,  in  this  respect, 
was  publicly  condemned  by  the  blessed  Jesus,  who  pro- 
nounced the  severest  judgments  upon  their  self-indul- 
gence. Contrasted  with  the  carriage  of  those  illiberal 
pretenders  to  piety,  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Fletcher  ap- 
peared in  a  truly  admirable  and  exemplary  point  of 
view.  Far  from  subjecting  others  to  those  hardships 
and  restraints  which  he  refused  to  impose  upon  himself, 
he  cheerfully  endeavoured  to  lighten  the  burdens  of  his 
brethren,  though  it  was  by  redoubling  his  own.  He 
laboured  to  quicken,  and  not  to  retard  the  progress  of 
the  weak  and  inexperienced.  He  compassionated  their 
defects,  and  made  excuse  for  their  constitutional  infirmi- 
ties, in  the  manner  of  his  gracious  Master,  who  kindly 
apologized  for  the  inattention  of  his  sleeping  disciples. 

"  He  studied  to  present  the  religion  of  Jesus  in  its 
most  alluring  form,  not  as  a  vial  of  wrath,  but  as  a  cup 
of  consolation ;  not  as  a  galling  yoke,  but  as  a  sacred 
tie  ;  not  as  a  depressing  burden,  but  as  a  never  failing 
support.  When  he  beheld  the  incautious  entangled  in 
the  mazes  of  temptation,  he  tenderly  lamented  the 
effects  of  their  indiscretion;  and  instead  of  throwing 
unnecessary  impediments  in  the  way  of  their  escape,  he 
affectionately  laboured  to  break  through  the  snare,  and 
deliver  the  captive.  If  his  brother  was  overtaken  in  a 
fault,  he  endeavoured  to  restore  him  in  the  spirit  of 
meekness  :  if  his  conscience  was  wounded  with  a  sense 
of  guilt,  he  hastened  to  meet  him  with  healing  remedies ; 
if  he  was  overwhelmed  with  the  dread  of  his  besetting 
sin,  and  harassed  with  the  apprehension  of  future  mis- 
carriages, he  encouraged  him  to  come  boldly  to  the 
throne  of  grace,  that  he  might  obtain  mercy,  and  find 
grace  to  help  him  in  every  time  of  need.  In  his  whole 
deportment  toward  the  ignorant  and  unfaithful,  he  copied 
the  character  of  a  skilful  and  affectionate  preceptor, 
who  keeps  future  difficulties  as  far  removed  as  possible 
from  the  view  of  his  pupils,  accommodating  their  exer- 
cises to  their  several  capacities,  overlooking  their  past 
negligence,  supplying  their  present  deficiencies,  and 
mentioning  their  poor  attainmemts  with  commendation 
and  praise. 


118 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


52.  "  But  while  his  conduct  toward  others  was  mark- 
ed with  unusual  lenity  and  tenderness,  he  exercised  the 
strictest  severity  with  regard  to  himself.  He  sought 
after  an  entire  conformity  to  the  -perfect  will  of  God. 
And  to  accelerate  his  progress  toward  this  desirable 
state,  he  cheerfully  renounced  his  natural  habits,  and 
resolutely  opposed  his  own  will,  unweariedly  labouring 
to  bring  every  thought  into  captivity  to  the  obedience  of 
Christ.  He  struggled  against  the  most  innocent  of  his 
infirmities  ;  he  entered  upon  the  most  painful  exercises; 
and  refused  to  allow  himself  in  the  least  temporary  in- 
dulgences which  were  not  perfectly  consistent  with  a 
life  of  unfeigned  mortification  and  self-denial.  He  en- 
gaged himself  in  every  kind  of  spiritual  labour,  with  the 
most  intense  application,  suffering  no  talent  to  remain 
unoccupied,  nor  any  moment  to  pass  by  unimproved  : 
and  so  perfectly  was  he  inured  to  habits  of  Christian 
industry,  that  he  never  discovered  an  inclination  to 
sweeten  the  most  laborious  exercises  with  those  refresh- 
ments and  relaxations  which  he  esteemed  not  only  allow- 
able, but,  in  some  cases,  necessary  to  his  weaker  bre- 
thren. Considering  himself  as  a  member  of  Christ's 
militant  Church,  he  complained  of  no  hardships,  nor 
thought  any  difficulty  too  great  to  be  encountered  in  the 
course  of  his  warfare.  He  was  careful  to  act,  in  every 
instance,  consistently  with  his  high  profession  ;  train- 
ing himself  up  to  spiritual  hardness  and  activity,  by  a 
resolute  attention  to  the  strictest  rules  of  Christian  dis- 
cipline ;  preferring  the  path  of  duty  before  the  lap  of 
repose  ;  neither  listening  to  the  suggestions  of  fear,  nor 
regarding  the  dictates  of  worldly  prudence :  stifling 
even  the  necessary  calls  of  nature  that  he  might  follow, 
with  less  interruption,  the  leadings  of  grace  ;  and  finally 
counting  neither  ease,  nor  interest,  nor  reputation,  nor 
even  life  itself,  dear  to  him,  that  he  might  finish  hi» 
course  with  joy." 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


116 


CHAPTER  V. 

Of  the  excursions  he  made  to  different  places;  his  first  visit  to 
his  native  country ;  his  office  and  usefulness  at  Trevecka ;  and  of 
the  steps  whereby  lie  was  led  to  write  on  controversial  subjects. 

1.  Although  Mr.  Fletcher  was  attached  in  no  com- 
mon degree  to  those  among  whom  he  was  appointed  to 
labour  ;  and  although  his  endeavours  were  chiefly  exer- 
cised for  their  spiritual  benefit ;  yet  was  his  heart  en- 
larged also  toward  all  the  children  of  God,  by  whatever 
name  they  were  distinguished,  or  wherever  the  bounds 
of  their  habitation  were  fixed.  And  he  was  ready,  at  all 
times,  as  far  as  his  duty  to  his  parishioners  would  per- 
mit, to  minister  to  them  the  word  of  life.  "  Consider- 
ing himself  as  a  debtor  (Gilpin's  Notes)  both  to  the 
Greeks  and  to  the  barbarians,  he  was  ready,  had  it  been 
possible,  to  have  visited  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth 
with  the  truths  of  the  Gospel :  and  wherever  a  Christian 
Church  was  established,  he  appeared  deeply  interested 
in  its  welfare,  expressing  a  vehement  desire  that  it  might 
be  regulated  in  all  tilings  as  the  house  of  God,  and  be- 
come, to  happy  thousands,  the  gate  of  heaven.  When 
the  members  of  any  distant  Church  were  represented  as 
exemplary  for  their  faith,  their  zeal,  or  their  love,  he  re- 
ceived the  report  of  their  advancement  in  grace  with  de- 
monstrations of  the  sincerest  joy,  and  publicly  expressed 
his  gratitude  to  that  great  Master  of  assemblies  who  hath 
pleasure  in  the  prosperity  of  his  servants.  When  the 
professors  of  Christianity  in  any  part  of  the  world  were 
observed  to  grow  weary  of  well  doing,  either  declining 
from  the  faith  of  the  Gospel,  or  neglecting  to  walk 
worthy  of  their  high  vocation  ;  his  heart  was  penetrated 
on  their  account  with  the  most  lively  concern ;  he 
lamented  their  instability  in  secret,  and  watered  his  couch 
with  his  tears.  When  the  spiritual  vine,  in  some  remote 
part  of  the  vineyard,  appeared  to  be  in  danger  from  the 
fury  of  the  oppressor  ;  when  her  hedges  were  broken 
down  and  her  fruit  torn  away  by  the  hand  of  persecu- 
tion, he  entered  deeply  into  the  distresses  of  the  suffer- 
ing Church  ,  he  fasted,  he  wept,  he  prayed,  making  con- 
tinual intercession  before  the  great  Lord  of  the  vineyard, 


1-20 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


that  he  would  look  down  from  heaven  and  visit  the 
plant  which  he  had  formerly  strengthened  for  himself; 
that,  spreading  forth  its  boughs  again  unto  the  sea, 
and  its  branches  unto  the  river,  the  hills  might  be  cover- 
ed with  the  shadow  of  it,  and  the  land  be  filled  with  its 
fruits." 

2.  With  a  view  to  promote  the  cause  of  Christ,  which, 
of  all  other  causes,  lay  nearest  to  his  heart,  he  made 
excursions  from  time  to  time,  not  only  into  sundry  towns 
and  villages  of  the  neighbourhood,  but  to  more  distant 
parts  of  the  kingdom.  A  person  who  was  an  eye  wit- 
ness of  the  following  transaction  informed  Mr.  Joseph 
Taylor,  that  in  or  about  the  year  1765  he  and  Mr.  Sel- 
lon,  of  Breedon,  in  Leicestershire,  supplied  each  other's 
Churches  for  a  few  Sabbaths.  While  Mr.  Fletcher  re- 
mained at  Breedon,  people  of  various  descriptions  flock- 
ed to  hear  him  from  all  the  parishes  adjacent.  The 
clerk  being  much  offended  at  seeing  such  crowds  attend, 
because  it  occasioned  a  little  more  labour  in  cleaning 
the  church,  determined  that  persons  from  other  parishes 
should  not  be  admitted  without  paying  each  one  penny. 
For  this  purpose  he  placed  himself  at  the  church  door, 
and  began  to  collect  the  money  from  them.  A  man  who 
was  grieved  at  the  conduct  of  the  clerk,  went  to  meet 
Mr.  Fletcher,  and  informed  him  of  it.  Mr.  Fletcher 
hastened  up  the  hill,  saying,  "  I  will  stop  his  proceed- 
ing." The  clerk,  seeing  Mr.  Fletcher  approach,  quitted 
the  post  he  had  taken,  and  went  to  his  desk.  When 
the  service  was  ended,  Mr.  Fletcher  said  to  the  congre- 
gation, "  I  have  not  felt  my  spirit  so  moved  these  six- 
teen years  last  past  as  I  have  done  to-day.  I  have  heard 
that  the  clerk  of  this  parish  has  demanded  and  has  act- 
ually received  money  from  divers  strangers  before  he 
would  suffer  them  to  enter  the  church.  I  desire  that  all 
who  have  paid  money  this  way  for  hearing  the  Gospel, 
will  come  to  me,  and  I  will  return  what  they  have  paid. 
And  as  to  this  iniquitous  clerk,  his  money  perish  with 
him."  In  1767,  he  was  in  Wales  and  Yorkshire,  as  he 
also  occasionally  visited  Bristol  and  Bath,  during  which 
time,  as  well  as  during  his  absence  in  the  preceding 
year,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Brown  was  intrusted  with  the  care 
of  his  flock.  Of  him  Mr.  Fletcher  entertained  a  high 
opinion,  and  placed  an  entire  confidence  in  his  prudence, 


LITE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


121 


piety,  and  zeal.  "  I  thank  you,"  says  he  to  Mr.  Ireland, 
"  for  your  care  to  procure  not  only  a  supply  for  my 
Church,  but  such  an  agreeable,  acceptable,  anil  profita- 
ble one  as  Mr.  Brown.  I  know  none  that  should  be 
more  welcome  than  he.  Tell  him,  with  a  thousand 
thanks  for  his  condescension,  that  I  deliver  my  charge 
over  to  him  fully,  and  give  him  a  carte  blanche,  to  do 
or  not  to  do,  as  the  Lord  shall  direct  him."  How  long 
Mr.  Brown  continued  at  Madeley  I  cannot  say,  nor 
whether  he  supplied  Mr.  Fletcher's  Church  during  the 
time  the  latter  spent  in  his  native  country,  in  companv 
with  his  faithful  and  tried  friend,  Mr.  Ireland,  in  the 
spring  of  the  year  1770.  He  had  formed  the  design  of 
paying  his  friends  this  visit  in  the  preceding  spring,  as 
appears  by  the  following  paragraph  of  a  letter  to  the 
same  friend,  dated  March  2<3,  17(59: —  # 

"I  shall  be  obliged  to  go  to  Switzerland,  this  year  or 
the  next,  if  I  live,  and  the  Lord  permit.  I  have  there  a 
brother,  a  worthy  man,  who  threatens  to  leave  his  wife 
and  children  to  come  and  pay  me  a  visit,  if  I  do  not  go 
and  see  him  myself.  It  is  some  time  since  our  gracious 
God  has  convinced  him  of  sin,  and  I  have  by  me  some 
of  his  letters  which  give  me  great  pleasure  ;  this  circum- 
stance has  more  weight  with  me  than  the  settlement  of 
my  affairs." 

Nevertheless  he  did  not  go  during  that  year,  for  at  the 
close  of  it  he  writes  from  Madeley  as  follows : — 

"  Last  night  I  received  your  obliging  letter,  and  am 
ready  to  accompany  you  to  Montpelier,  provided  you 
will  go  with  me  to  Nyon.  I  shall  raise  about  twenty 
guineas,  and  with  that  sum,  a  gracious  Providence,  and 
your  purse,  I  hope  we  shall  want  for  nothing.  If  the 
Lord  send  me,  I  should  want  nothing,  though  I  had 
nothing,  and  though  my  fellow  traveller  were  no  richer 
than  myself. 

"  I  hope  to  be  at  Bristol  soon  to  offer  you  my  services 
to  pack  up.  You  desired  to  have  a  Swiss  servant,  and 
I  offer  myself  to  you  in  that  capacity ;  for  I  shall  be  no 
more  ashamed  of  serving  you,  as  far  as  I  am  capable  of 
doing  it,  than  I  am  of  wearing  your  livery. 

"Two  reasons  (to  say  nothing  of  the  pleasure  of  your 
company)  engage  me  to  go  with  you  to  Montpelier — a 
desire  to  visit  some  poor  Hugonots  in  the  south  of 


122 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


France,  and  the  need  I  have  to  recover  a  little  French 
before  I  go  and  converse  with  my  compatriots." 

3.  The  accomplishment,  however,  of  his  desire  in 
their  intended  journey  was  farther  delayed  for  a  few 
weeks,  by  a  circumstance  which  he  speaks  of  in  the 
same  letter  in  the  following  words  : — 

"The  (popish)  priest  at  Madeley  is  going  to  open  his 
mass  house,  and  I  have  declared  war  on  that  account  last 
Sunday,  and  propose  to  strip  the  whore  of  Babylon  and 
expose  her  nakedness  to-morrow.  All  the  papists  are  in 
a  great  ferment,  and  they  have  held  meetings  to  consult 
on  the  occasion.  One  of  their  bloody  bullies  came  to 
'  pick  up,'  as  he  said,  a  quarrel  with  me,  and  what  would 
have  been  the  consequence,  had  not  I  providentially  had 
company  with  me,  I  cannot  say.  How  far  their  rage 
may  be  kindled  to-morrow  I  don't  know  :  but  I  question 
whether  it  will  be  right  for  me  to  leave  the  field  in  these 
circumstances.  I  forgot  to  mention  that  two  of  our  poor 
ignorant  Churchmen  are  going  to  join  the  mass  house, 
which  is  also  a  cause  of  my  having  taken  up  arms.  Fare- 
well.   Yours,  J.  F." 

4.  He  preached  the  sermon  intended  the  next  Lord's 
day.  The  text  on  which  he  grounded  his  doctrine,  as  I 
have  reason  to  believe,  from  a  manuscript  of  his  now 
before  me,  was  1  Tim.  iv,  1-3:  "The  Spirit  speaketh 
expressly  that  in  the  latter  times  some  shall  depart  from 
the  faith,  giving  heed  to  seducing  spirits  and  doctrines 
of  devils ;  speaking  lies  in  hypocrisy,  having  their  con- 
science seared  with  a  hot  iron  ;  forbidding  to  marry,  and 
commanding  to  abstain  from  meats,  which  God  hath 
created  to  be  received  with  thanksgiving  of  them  who 
believe  and  know  the  truth.'" 

In  discoursing  from  these  words,  if  I  may  judge  by 
the  skeleton  of  the  sermon  upon  them,  he  showed, 
I.  What  the  apostolic  doctrine  was,  and  in  what  respect 
the  papists  had  departed  from  it,  and  given  heed  to 
seducing  spirits  and  doctrines  of  devils.  1.  That,  ac- 
cording to  the  apostles  and  prophets,  the  Holy  Scriptures 
are  a  sufficient  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  Isa.  viii,  20 ; 
Gal.  i,  8;  2  Tim.  iii,  15-17;  Jude  3.  But  that  the 
Church  of  Rome  teaches  they  are  not  a  sufficient  rule, 
"  proposing  some  doctrines  as  matters  of  faith,  and  re- 
quiring some  things  as  necessary  duty,  which  learned 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


123 


men  among  themselves  confess  not  to  be  contained  in 
Scripture,  and  maintaining  that  tradition  as  well  as 
Scripture  is  a  necessary  rule  of  faith,  requiring  it  to  be 
received  and  reverenced  with  the  like  pious  regard  and 
veneration  as  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  declaring  those 
to  be  accursed  who  knowingly  contemn  it."  2.  That, 
according  to  the  apostolic  faith,  the  one  living  and  true. 
God  is  the  sole  object  of  religious  worship,  Matt,  iv,  10. 
Whereas  the  papists  enjoin  the  worship  of  the  host,  or 
consecrated  wafer,  and  of  angels,  saints,  images,  and 
relics.  3.  That,  according  to  the  apostles  and  other 
inspired  writers,  Christ  is  the  only  mediator  between 
God  and  man  ;  the  only  advocate,  intercessor,  and  Sa- 
viour, 1  Tim.  ii,  5  ;  1  John  ii,  1.  But  that  the  papists 
believe  there  are  many  mediators,  intercessors,  and 
advocates  with  God,  to  whom  they  are  wont  to  have 
recourse,  as  the  Virgin  Mary,  St.  Peter,  and  departed 
saints  in  general.  4.  That  the  apostles  and  evangelists 
teach  us  that  there  is  no  merit,  strictly  speaking,  in  us 
or  in  our  works  or  sufferings  ;  that,  at  the  best,  we  are 
"  unprofitable  servants,"  and  our  righteousness,  consider- 
ed in  itself,  as  "  filthy  rags  ;"  that  all  merit  is  in  Him,  his 
life  and  death,  his  atonement  and  intercession  ;  that 
there  is  no  "  propitiatory  sacrifice,"  but  that  of  His 
cross,  Heb.  i,  3;  ix,  11,  12,  26;  and  no  "purgatory," 
but  His  blood  and  Spirit,  1  John  i,  7 ;  Rev.  i,  5  ;  Zech. 
xiii,  1.  But  that  the  Church  of  Rome,  by  her  doctrine 
of  indulgences,  of  penances,  and  of  works  of  superero- 
gation, as  well  as  by  that  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass,  and 
of  purgatory,  has  evidently  departed  from  that  faith  ; 
affirming  that  "the  works  of  justified  persons  do  truly 
deserve  eternal  life,"  and  pronouncing  "  him  accursed 
who  shall  affirm  that  such  works  do  not  truly  deserve 
an  increase  of  grace  here  and  eternal  life  hereafter." 
5.  That,  according  to  the  doerine  of  Christ  and  his  apos- 
tles, the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  one  source  of 
all  the  holiness,  inward  and  outward,  and  of  all  the  good 
which  is  in  or  is  done  by  man  :  and  that  this  "  Spirit 
beareth  witness  with  the  spirits  of  the  faithful,  that  they 
are  the  children  of  God."  But  the  papists  hold  that  the 
Virgin  Mary  is  also  a  source  of  grace  to  the  faithful, 
being  accustomed  to  address  her  in  these  words,  "  Hail, 
Mary,  full  of  grace,  the  Lord  be  with  thee,  thy  grace 


121 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


with  mc."  And  they  maintain,  also,  that  there  is  no 
certain  knowledge  of  salvation  to  be  attained  in  this  life. 
6.  As  to  the  commands  of  God,  they  mangle  the  first; 
they  curtail,  obliterate,  or  openly  break  the  second  ; 
and  most  evidently  contradict  and  violate  the  tenth  ;  the 
council  of  Trent  having  pronounced  them  "  accursed 
who  say  that  concupiscence  is  sin."  7.  Prayer  is  per- 
verted by  them,  being  ridiculously  addressed  to  saints 
and  angels,  and  that  by  means  of  beads  and  strings  ;  is 
offered  often  for  the  dead,  and,  when  in  public,  generally 
in  a  tongue  not  undei  stood  by  the  common  people. 
8.  The  two  sacraments  are  corrupted  and  abused  :  that 
of  the  Lord's  Supper  by  the  doctrine  of  transubstantia- 
tion,  which  teaches  that  the  bread  and  wine  are  changed, 
by  the  act  of  consecration,  into  the  very  body  and  blood 
of  Christ ;  that  it  is  "  a  sacrifice  for  the  dead  and  the 
living,"  and  ought  to  be  adored  :  and  also  in  denying  the 
cup  to  the  laity.  Baptism  is  partly  abused  in  the  baptism 
of  bells,  and  partly  rendered  ridiculous  by  joining  it  with 
sundry  foolish  and  unscriptural  ceremonies.  9.  Mar- 
riage is  constituted  a  sacrament,  without  any  authority 
from  Scripture,  and  yet  is  forbidden  to  the  clergy. 

Another  part  of  Mr.  Fletcher's  discourse  went  to  show 
that  the  Spirit  had  expressly  foretold  that  such  a  depart- 
ure as  this  from  the  faith  should  take  place  in  the  latter 
days,  or  days  intervening  between  Christ's  first  and 
second  coming.  With  this  view,  he  appealed  to  the 
prophecy  of  Daniel,  chap,  vii,  25,  and  xi,  36,  and  to  St. 
Paul's  Second  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians,  chap,  ii,  4, 
proving,  by  convincing  arguments,  that  these  passages 
of  the  inspired  writings  were  meant  to  be  understood  of 
the  general  apostacy  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Gospel 
days.  He  showed,  also,  that  this  departure  from  the 
truth  of  doctrine  and  practice  had  taken  place  through 
giving  way  to  seducing  spirits  in  popes  and  priests, 
jesuits  and  friars. 

5.  Concerning  the  effects  of  this  sermon,  and  the  cir- 
cumstances consequent  upon  it,  Mr.  Fletcher  writes  to 
his  friend  as  follows  : — 

"  The  day  after  I  wrote  to  you,  I  preached  the  sermon 
against  popery  which  I  had  promised  to  my  people  : 
and  Mr.  S — t — r  called  out  several  times  in  the  church 
yard,  as  the  people  went  out  of  church,  that  '  there  was 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


125 


not  one  word  of  truth  in  the  whole  of  my  discourse,  and 
that  he  would  prove  it ;'  and  told  me  that  '  he  would 
produce  a  gentleman  who  should  answer  my  sermon, 
and  the  pamphlet  I  had  distributed.'  I  was  therefore 
obliged  to  declare  in  the  church  that  I  should  not  quit 
England,  and  was  only  going  into  Wales,  from  whence  I 
would  return  soon  to  reply  to  the  answer  of  Mr.  S — t — r 
and  the  priest,  if  they  should  oiler  any.  I  am  thus 
obliged  to  return  to  Madeley,  by  ray  word  so  publicly 
pledged,  as  well  as  to  raise  a  little  money  for  my 
journey." 

By  this  bold  and  prudent  stand,  thus  made  by  this  man 
of  God,  the  designs  of  the  papists  were  in  a  great  mea- 
sure frustrated,  and  they  were  prevented  from  making 
any  progress  worth  mentioning  in  that  neighbourhood. 
It  is  true,  there  is  even  now  a  mass  house  and  a  priest 
at  Madeley  :  but  I  find  upon  inquiry  there  are  not  a 
dozen  popish  families  in  the  parish. 

6.  This  little  storm  seems  to  have  been  chiefly  blown 
over  before  the  middle  of  January,  at  which  time,  how- 
ever, he  was  still  undetermined  respecting  his  intended 
visit  to  France  and  Switzerland,  as  appears  by  a  letter 
of  the  13th  of  that  month  to  Mr.  Ireland,  written  from 
Wales  :— 

"  I  know  not  what  to  think  of  our  journey.  My  heart 
frequently  recoils  ;  I  have  lost  all  hopes  of  being  able  to 
preach  in  French,  and  I  think  if  I  could  they  will  not  per- 
mit me.  I  become  more  stupid  every  day  :  my  memory 
fails  me  in  a  surprising  manner.  I  am  good  for  nothing 
but  to  go  and  bury  myself  in  my  parish.  Judge,  then, 
whether  I  am  fit  to  go  into  the  world.  On  the  other 
hand,  I  fear  that  your  journey  is  undertaken  partly  from 
complaisance  to  me,  and  in  consequence  of  the  engage- 
ment we  made  to  go  together.  I  acquit  you  of  your 
promise,  and  if  your  business  do  not  really  demand  your 
presence  in  France,  I  beg  you  will  not  think  of  going 
there  on  my  account.  The  bare  idea  of  giving  you 
trouble  would  make  the  journey  ten  times  more  disa- 
greeable to  me  than  the  season  of  the  year. 

"  If  your  affairs  do  not  really  call  you  to  France,  I 
will  wait  until  Providence  and  grace  shall  open  a  way 
for  me  to  the  mountains  of  Switzerland,  if  I  am  ever  to 
Bee  them  again.    Adieu.    Give  yourself  wholly  to  God. 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


A  divided  heart,  like  a  divided  kingdom,  falls  naturally 
by  its  own  gravity,  either  into  darkness  or  into  sin.  My 
heart's  desire  is,  that  the  love  of  Jesus  may  fill  your 
soul,  and  that  of  your  unworthy  and  greatly  obliged 
servant,  J.  F." 

7.  His  friend,  it  appears,  had  solved  his  doubts,  and 
answered  his  objections  so  much  to  his  satisfaction  in 
his  reply,  that  they  soon  afterward  undertook  their 
journey,  and  travelled  through  a  great  part  of  France 
and  Italy,  as  well  as  visited  Switzerland.  It  is  extremely 
to  be  regretted  that  neither  of  them  kept  a  journal  dur- 
ing this  tour,  as  the  incidents  which  occurred,  I  know, 
were  such  as  would  have  afforded  much  important,  as 
well  as  pleasing  information,  if  recorded  in  a  narrative 
of  this  kind.  In  order  in  some  degree  to  supply  this 
want,  I  insert  here  the  following  short  account  of  some 
of  these  occurrences,  which  Mr.  Ireland  has  kindly 
favoured  me  with  in  answer  to  my  inquiries. 

8.  His  words  are,  "  It  would  give  me  great  pleasure 
to  add  any  thing  to  what  I  have  already  communicated 
respecting  my  much  esteemed  but  deceased  friend.  But 
alas  !  I  may  as  well  attempt  to  gather  up  water  spilled 
on  the  ground.  I  was  with  him  day  and  night,  in  our 
first  journey,  nearly  five  months,  travelling  all  over 
Italy  and  France.  At  that  time  a  popish  priest  resided 
in  his  parish,  who  attempted  to  mislead  the  poor  people. 
Mr.  Fletcher,  therefore,  throughout  this  journey,  attend- 
ed the  sermons  of  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy,  visited 
their  convents  and  monasteries,  and  conversed  with  all 
the  most  serious  among  them  whom  he  met  with,  in  or- 
der that  he  might  thoroughly  know  their  sentiments 
concerning  spiritual  religion.  And  he  was  so  very  par- 
ticular in  making  his  observations  respecting  the  gross 
and  absurd  practices  of  the  priests  and  other  clergy, 
especially  while  we  were  in  Italy,  that  we  were  fre- 
quently in  no  small  danger  of  our  lives.  He  wished  to 
attend  the  pope's  chapel  at  Rome,  but  I  would  not  con- 
sent to  accompany  him,  till  I  had  obtained  a  promise 
from  him  that  he  would  forbear  to  speak  byway  of  cen- 
sure or  reproof  of  what  he  saw  or  heard.  He  came 
into  company  with  a  great  many  men  of  science  and 
learning,  with  whom  he  conversed  freely  on  Gospel 
truths  ;  which  most  of  them  opposed  with  violence.  A 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


127 


few  heard  and  were  edified.  I  have  often  said  that  I 
would  give  a  considerable  sum  of  money,  could  I  recol- 
lect or  procure  a  copy  of  his  arguments,  and  their  re- 
plies, respecting  the  capital  truths  of  the  Gospel.  But, 
alas  !  my  memory  fails  me  ;  and  although  I  was  exceed- 
ingly struck  with  them  at  the  time  I  heard  them,  yet  as 
they  occurred  frequently,  I  had  not  leisure  on  the  jour- 
ney to  take  minutes  of  them.  His  whole  life,  as  you 
well  know,  was  a  sermon  :  all  his  conversations  were 
sermons.  Even  his  disputations  with  infidels  were  full 
of  instruction.  We  met  with  a  gentleman  of  fortune 
once  on  a  journey,  an  excellent  classical  scholar,  with 
whom  we  continued  near  a  fortnight  in  a  hotel.  He  said 
he  had  travelled  all  over  Europe,  and  had  passed  through 
all  the  societies  in  England,  to  find  a  person  whose  life 
corresponded  with  the  gospels  and  with  Paul's  epistles. 
And  he  asked  me  (for  it  was  with  me  he  first  began  to 
converse)  if  I  knew  of  any  clergyman  or  dissenting 
minister  in  England,  possessing  a  stipend  of  one  hurt' 
dred  pounds  a  year  for  the  cure  of  souls  who  would  not 
leave  them  all  if  I  offered  him  double  that  sum.  I  re- 
plied in  the  affirmative,  and  soon  pointed  out  my  friend, 
Mr.  Fletcher,  when  absent.  Disputations  now  com- 
menced, which  continued,  at  intervals,  for  many  days. 
And  they  had  this  effect  upon  the  gentleman  that  he 
ever  after  revered  and  respected  our  friend  ;  and  when 
we  met  again,  many  years  after,  at  Marseilles,  showed 
him  every  civility." 

9.  The  instance  referred  to  by  Mr.  Ireland  in  the  pre- 
ceding account  is  related  more  at  large  by  Mr.  Gilpin, 
in  the  following  words  : — "  Some  years  ago  he  met  with 
a  traveller  on  the  continent,  who  had  adopted  the  senti- 
ments of  Voltaire,  with  respect  to  the  religion  of  Jesus  ; 
a  man  of  much  information  and  refinement,  and  a  strenu- 
ous opposer  of  the  Christian  faith.  This  gentleman  no 
sooner  understood  that  he  u-as  sitting  in  company  with 
a  zealous  defender  of  scriptural  truth,  but,  confiding  in 
his  own  superiority,  he  carelessly  threw  out  the  gauntlet, 
by  ridiculing  the  sentiments  which  Mr.  Fletcher  main- 
tained. Our  pious  traveller  immediately  accepted  the 
challenge  with  a  modest  assurance,  and  the  conversation 
between  these  two  able  disputants  soon  became  serious. 
Every  argument,  on  either  side,  was  proposed  with  the 


128 


LIFE  OF  REV. 


J.  FLETCHER. 


greatest  caution,  and  every  proposition  examined  with 
the  nicest  accuracy.  After  the  contest  had  continued 
for  several  hours  together,  the  gentleman  grew  impa- 
tient at  his  want  of  success  ;  while  his  calmer  opponent 
confuted  and  exposed  the  tenets  he  had  vainly  endea- 
voured to  maintain. 

"  This  debate  was  continued  by  adjournment,  for  the 
space  of  a  week  ;  and,  during  this  season,  whatever  had 
been  said  upon  the  subject  by  the  most  celebrated  wri- 
ters, was  regularly  brought  forward,  and  thoroughly 
canvassed.  Mr.  Fletcher  repeatedly  overcame  his  an- 
tagonist, whose  arguments  became  more  languid  and 
ineffectual  toward  the  close  of  the  debate,  and  who 
regularly  lost  his  temper  and  his  cause  together.  In 
the  course  of  this  controversy,  Mr.  Fletcher  took  a  view 
of  the  Christian's  enviable  life,  his  consolation  in  trou- 
ble, and  his  tranquillity  in  danger  ;  together  with  his 
absolutely  superiority  to  all  the  evils  of  life  and  the 
horrors  of  death  ;  interspersing  his  remarks  with  many 
affectionate  admonitions,  and  powerful  persuasives  to 
a  rational  dependence  upon  the  truths  of  the  Gospel. 

"  Such  was  the  conclusion  of  this  memorable  debate, 
in  the  course  of  which  the  unsuccessful  disputant  con- 
ceived so  exalted  an  idea  of  his  opponent's  character, 
that  he  never  afterward  mentioned  his  name  but  with 
peculiar  veneration  and  regard.  And,  as  a  proof  that 
this  regard  was  unfeigned,  meeting  with  Mr.  Fletcher 
about  eight  years  afterward  in  Provence,  where  he  lived 
in  affluence  and  case,  he  showed  him  every  possible 
civility,  entertaining  him  at  his  own  house  in  the  most 
hospitable  manner,  and  listening  to  his  conversation 
on  spiritual  subjects  with  all  imaginable  attention  and 
respect. 

"Such  was  the  manner  in  which  Mr.  Fletcher  ac- 
quitted himself  in  the  defence  of  oppressed  truth ;  and 
whether  his  efforts  were  successful  or  not,  he  left  behind 
him  in  every  place  sufficient  proofs  of  the  acuteness, 
resolution,  and  constancy,  with  which  he  exerted  him- 
self in  her  cause." 

10.  Another  anecdote,  similar  to  the  preceding,  is  re- 
lated by  the  same  pious  author  in  the  following  words : — 
"  Meeting  some  years  ago  with  a  young  Genoese,  who 
was  returning  from  Antibes  to  Genoa,  Mr.  Fletcher, 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


129 


who  was  taking  the  same  route,  very  courteously  ac- 
cepted the  offer  of  his  company.  After  a  short  conver- 
sation had  taken  place  between  them,  our  pious  traveller 
Mas  deeply  affected  to  discover  that  his  companion  had 
imbibed  the  skeptical  notions  of  the  day.  Upon  this 
discovery,  he  beheld  the  youth  with  a  mixture  of  com- 
passion and  hope,  secretly  determining  to  improve  the 
providence  which  had  cast  this  young  stranger  in  his 
way.  by  attempting  to  lead  him  from  the  grossness  of 
materialism  to  the  spirituality  of  the  Gospel.  As  they 
^vorc  detained  at  Monacho  by  contrary  winds,  he  thank- 
fully embraced  this  favourable  opportunity  of  convers- 
ing with  his  fellow  traveller  in  the  freest  and  most  affec- 
tionate manner.  At  first  the  young  man  mantained  his 
own  sentiments  with  a  great  degree  of  warmth,  and  with  a 
strong  persuasion  that  every  attempt  to  refute  them  would 
be  ineffectual ;  but  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours  he  was 
unexpectedly  staggered  by  the  forcible  arguments  of  his 
wiser  opponent.  At  the  end  of  two  days'  debate,  he 
frankly  acknowledged  himself  vanquished,  and  express- 
ed a  desire  that  the  controversy  might  be  turned  into  a 
liberal  inquiry  respecting  the  nature  of  revealed  reli- 
gion. Here  Mr.  Fletcher  entered  upon  a  part  of  his 
province  to  which  he  was  always  especially  disposed, 
explaining  the  Scriptures  in  a  manner  peculiar  to  him- 
self, equally  intelligible  and  sublime,  leading  on  his 
astonished  companion  from  mystery  to  mystery,  and 
opening  before  him  an  unbounded  prospect  of  grace 
and  glory.  The  young  man  was  struck  with  the  mas- 
terly skill,  and  affected  with  the  more  than  parental 
concern  of  his  instructer.  He  looked  up  to  him  with 
reverence,  and  listened  to  him  with  admiration  :  and 
still,  the  longer  he  attended  to  his  discourse,  the  more 
he  was  athirst  for  information,  renewing  the  sacred  sub- 
ject with  little  intermission  from  morning  till  night. 

"At  length  the  young  gentleman  was  constrained  to 
acknowledge  the  natural  depravity  and  darkness  of  his 
mind,  bewailing  his  former  inattention  to  the  most  mo- 
mentous concerns,  and  lamenting,  with  many  tears,  that 
he  had  wandered  so  long  without  the  help  of  an  experi- 
enced guide  to  extricate  him  from  the  mazes  of  delusion 
and  error.  From  this  time  he  desired  to  be  present  at 
morning  and  evening  prayer,  on  which  occasions  Mr. 


130 


LIFE  OF  REV.  3.  FLETCHER. 


Fletcher  was  careful  to  expound  some  portion  of  Scrip- 
ture peculiarly  adapted  to  his  circumstances  ;  and,  dur- 
ing the  continuance  of  these  devotional  exercises,  such 
was  the  solemn  attention  and  deportment  of  this  altered 
youth,  that  a  stranger  would  have  supposed  him  a  stu- 
dent of  deep  experience  in  the  school  of  Christ.  These 
religious  impressions  were  not  only  continued,  but  deep- 
ened from  day  to  day,  till  their  arrival  at  Genoa ;  when 
Mr.  Fletcher  had  the  satisfaction  of  observing,  in  the 
character  of  his  able  companion,  every  apparent  token 
of  a  real  and  permanent  change. 

"During  Mr.  Fletcher's  continuance  at  this  place  he 
had  frequent  opportunities  of  conversing  with  his  new 
acquaintance,  from  whom  he  received  many  testimonies 
of  affectionate  regard,  and  whom  he  endeavoured  to 
establish  in  the  faith  of  the  Gospel.  He  gave  him  such 
directions  and  warnings  as  were  suited  to  his  state.  He 
exhorted  him  to  search  the  Scriptures,  and  to  continue 
instant  in  prayer.  He  set  before  him  the  trials  and  dif- 
ficulties which  would  probably  attend  his  spiritual  pro- 
gress, together  with  the  advantages  and  consolations 
which  must  necessarily  accompany  a  religious  life.  He 
guarded  him  against  the  devices  of  an  ensnaring  world, 
and  pointed  out  the  vanity  of  its  richest  gifts ;  how 
transient  its  smiles,  how  trilling  its  honours,  how  uncer- 
tain its  riches,  how  inconstant  its"  friendship,  how  feeble 
its  supports;  entreating  him  to  mark  it  down  in  his  me- 
mory, that  the  friend  of  the  world  is  the  enemy  of  God. 
And  now,  being  called  away  from  Genoa,  after  taking  a 
most  affectionate  leave  of  his  young  disciple,  and  com- 
mending him  to  God  in  solemn  prayer,  he  went  on  his 
way  rejoicing." 

1 1.  We  learn  farther  from  Mr.  Ireland,  that  while  they 
were  at  Marseilles,  he  procured  for  Mr.  Fletcher  the  use 
of  a  Protestant  church  in  that  neighbourhood.  After 
this  grant  had  been  obtained,  Mr.  Fletcher  made  the 
circumstance  of  his  preaching  there  the  subject  of  most 
fervent  prayer  during  the  whole  of  the  preceding  week. 
And  inasmuch  as  he  found  no  freedom  in  his  mind,  nor 
confidence  in  praying  concerning  it,  nor  expectation  of 
doing  good  by  preaching,  he  entreated  Mr.  Ireland  every 
day,  even  until  the  Sunday  morning  when  he  was  to 
preach,  to  go  and  inform  the  minister  he  must  decline 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


131 


preaching.  Mr.  Ireland,  however,  refused;  and  Mr. 
Fletcher  was  compelled,  by  a  regard  for  consistency 
and  propriety  of  conduct,  to  go  up  into  the  pulpit ; 
although  under  great  fear  and  depression  of  mind.  God 
was  pleased,  however,  when  he  began  to  pray,  to  give 
him  great  freedom  of  speech  and  enlargement  of  heart, 
and  he  afterward  preached  in  a  manner  that  astonished 
all  that  heard  him.  The  whole  congregation,  among 
whom  were  many  ministers,  were  in  tears,  and  exceed- 
ingly affected  most  part  of  the  the  time  that  he  was 
engaged  in  the  service. 

12.  The  reader  would  observe  that  in  one  of  the  let- 
ters quoted  above  Mr.  Fletcher  mentions  his  having  a 
desire  to  visit  some  Hugonots  (Protestants)  in  the  south 
of  France  ;  and  it  was  during  this  tour  that  his  desire 
was  gratified,  and  the  following  circumstance  took  place, 
related  by  Mr.  Gilpin  in  his  Notes.  Indeed,  while  on 
his  last  journey  to  the  continent,  he  was  not  in  a  state  of 
health  to  undertake  any  labour  of  the  kind. 

"Passing  some  years  ago,"  says  Mr.  Gilpin,  "  through 
the  south  of  France,  he  expressed  a  longing  desire  to 
visit  the  Protestants  in  the  Sevennes  mountains,  whose 
fathers  had  suffered  so  greatly  in  the  cause  of  godliness. 
To  converse  with  the  children  of  those  who  had  laid 
down  their  lives  in  defence  of  the  truth  was  a  privilege 
not  to  be  despised  by  a  man  who  never  lost  an  oppor- 
tunity of  conversing  with  a  righteous  person,  without 
lamenting  it  as  a  real  misfortune.  Though  the  journey 
was  long  and  difficult,  yet  no  argument  could  prevail 
with  him  to  give  up  his  resolution  of  attempting  it  on 
foot.  ■  Shall  I,'  said  he  to  his  friend,  '  make  a  visit  on 
horseback,  and  at  ease,  to  those  poor  cottagers,  whose 
fathers  were  hunted  along  yonder  rocks  like  partridges 
upon  the  mountains  ?  No  ;  in  order  to  secure  a  more 
friendly  reception  among  them,  I  will  visit  them  under 
the  plainest  appearance,  and  with  my  staff  in  my  hand.' 

"  Accordingly  he  set  out  alone  on  this  Christian  expe- 
dition ;  and  after  travelling  till  it  was  nearly  dark,  he 
came  to  a  small  house,  where  he  requested  the  favour  of 
sitting  up  in  a  chair  till  the  morning.  It  was  not  with- 
out some  hesitation  that  the  master  of  the  cottage  con- 
sented to  receive  him ;  after  which  he  immediately  en- 
tered into  discourse  with  his  host  and  his  wife,  who  were 


132 


LIVE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


so  much  charmed  with  the  conversation  and  manners  of 
their  guest,  that  they  considered  the  richest  provisions 
their  house  could  afford  as  too  mean  to  be  set  before 
him.  After  a  hasty  repast  the  conversation  was  con- 
tinued on  the  part  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  and  attended  to  by 
th  c  children,  as  well  as  by  their  parents,  with  a  degree 
of  eagerness  which  discovered  their  desire  of  religious 
instruction.  Before  they  retired  to  rest,  prayer  was 
proposed  :  and  while  this  holy  man  was  engaged  in 
pouring  out  his  fervent  supplication  before  God,  the 
family  around  him  were  uncommonly  affected,  melted 
into  tears,  and  filled  with  holy  admiration.  Early  on 
the  morrow,  while  he  repeated  his  exhortations  and 
renewed  his  prayers,  he  was  listened  to  with  the  same 
veneration  and  earnestness  ;  when,  taking  an  affection- 
ate leave  of  the  family,  he  left  the  whole  household  in  a 
state  of  astonishment  and  concern.  This  little  relation 
was  taken  from  the  poor  man  himself,  who  immediately 
gave  it  out  among  his  neighbours  that  he  had  nearly 
refused  to  admit  a  stranger  into  his  house,  who  proved 
to  be  rather  an  angel  than  a  man.  This  family  was  of 
the  Romish  Church. 

"  Continuing  his  journey,  Mr.  Fletcher  reached  a  little 
town  where  he  was  entertained  by  a  pious  minister  to 
whom  he  had  been  recommended.  Here  he  was  re- 
ceived by  the  serious  Protestants  with  open  arms,  among 
whom  he  exercised  his  ministry  with  much  freedom  and 
success.  He  conversed  with  their  elders,  he  admonished 
their  youth,  he  visited  their  sick,  diligently  exhorting 
and  instructing  them  from  house  to  house,  while  many 
among  them  were  comforted,  and  many  built  up  in  their 
most  holy  faith. 

"In  the  course  of  his  progress  through  these  mount- 
ains, he  put  up  at  a  little  house,  where  his  landlord  was 
one  of  those  persons  who  seldom  utter  a  word  unaccom- 
panied by  an  oath.  Our  benevolent  traveller  addressed 
this  unthinking  creature  in  his  usual  pointed  and  pathetic 
manner  ;  and  not  without  effect.  His  heart  M  as  deeply 
penetrated  with  the  deserved  rebuke,  he  confessed  his 
error,  and  expressed  a  serious  concern  for  the  irregu- 
larity of  his  past  conduct.  Mr.  Fletcher  had  many 
opportunities  in  this  family  for  the  pious  exercises  of 
admonition  and  prayer ;   and,  from  the  time  of  his 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


133 


sojourning  among  them,  an  uncommon  reformation  was 
apparent  in  the  conversation  and  manners  of  his  host. 
It  has  since  appeared  that  the  solemn  exhortations  he 
received  during  this  season  were  attended  with  so  ex- 
traordinary an  effect  upon  this  poor  man,  that  if,  on  any- 
future  occasion,  he  discovered  an  unholy  warmth  in  his 
temper,  nothing  more  was  necessary  to  produce  an  im- 
mediate calm  in  his  mind  than  the  bare  recollection  of 
that  venerable  stranger  who  had  once  lodged  beneath 
his  roof. 

"  This  tedious  journey,  (of  which  a  much  more  cir- 
cumstantial account  might  be  given,)  while  it  evinced 
the  love  of  this  indefatigable  pastor  to  those  whom  he 
knew  only  by  report,  was  productive  of  the  happiest 
consequences  to  those  who  attended  his  ministry  upon 
this  occasion,  and  especially  to  those  who  entertained 
him  in  their  families." 

13.  It  was  during  this  journey,  also,  that  while  they 
were  travelling  through  a  part  of  Italy,  "  as  they  ap- 
proached the  Appian  Way,  he  directed  the  driver  to  stop 
before  he  entered  upon  it.  He  then  ordered  the  chaise 
door  to  be  opened,  assuring  his  fellow  traveller  that  his 
heart  would  not  suffer  him  to  ride  over  that  ground  upon 
which  the  Apostle  Paul  had  formerly  walked  chained 
to  a  soldier,  on  account  of  preaching  the  everlasting 
Gospel.  As  soon  as  he  had  set  his  foot  upon  this  old 
Roman  road,  he  took  off  his  hat ;  and  walking  on  with 
his  eyes  lifted  up  to  heaven,  returned  thanks  to  God  in 
a  most  fervent  manner  for  that  light,  those  truths,  and 
that  inlluenee  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  were  continued 
to  the  present  day.  He  rejoiced  that  England  was 
favoured  with  the  Gospel  in  its  purity  ;  and  devoutly 
implored  that  Rome  might  again  have  the  truths  of  that 
Gospel  declared  in  those  Churches  which  were  disgraced 
with  a  worship  little  superior  to  that  of  ancient  Athens. 
He  then  took  a  view  of  the  exemplary  life,  the  extensive 
travels,  and  astonishing  labours  of  the  great  apostle. 
He  recounted  his  sufferings  when  a  prisoner,  and  his 
trials  when  at  liberty  ;  his  rigid  self-denial,  and  his 
voluntary  poverty  for  the  fartherance  of  the  Gospel. 
He  spoke  of  his  painful  ministry,  and  his  violent  perse- 
cutions, enlarging  with  peculiar  energy  upon  his  last 
journey  from  Jerusalem  to  Rome.    He  then  ran  over 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


his  experience  :  his  faith,  his  love,  his  ahundant  revela- 
tions, and  his  constant  communion  with  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ;  demonstrating  that  without  such  communion,  he 
could  never  have  supported  the  sharp  conflicts  and  re- 
peated sufferings  to  which  he  was  daily  exposed.  Here 
he  adverted  to  his  own  situation  with  a  degree  of  gratitude 
that  surpasses  all  description.  What  a  miracle  of  mercy, 
said  he,  that  a  Christian,  hated  and  despised  as  he  is  by 
all  men,  is  yet  suffered  to  live  :  and  that  we,  who  desire 
to  be  such,  can  travel  at  this  day  unmolested  among 
those  who  abhor  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  Their  an- 
cestors were  stained  with  the  blood  of  lba-  innocent; 
and  were  the  Gospel  tc  be  proposed  in  its  purity  to  the 
present  generation,  they  would  rush  upon  the  preacher 
of  it,  as  so  many  beasts  of  prey,  if  He,  who  restrained 
the  lions  from  devouring  Daniel,  were  not  present  to 
control  their  destructive  zeal.  These  remarks  were 
continued  for  a  long  time  together,  sweetly  intermixed 
with  occasional  prayer  and  praise.  He  breathed  no- 
thing but  devotion  ;  and  had  he  not  been  prevented 
by  the  presence  of  the  driver,  such  were  his  feelings  on 
treading  this  celebrated  road,  that  he  would  certainly 
have  acted  like  St.  Paul  when  he  retired  to  the  riverside, 
where  prayer  was  wont  to  be  made.'1'' 

14.  Soon  after  his  arrival  in  Switzerland,  "he  was 
waited  upon  by  the  clergy  at  Nyon,  who  severally  pressed 
him  to  honour  their  pulpits  during  his  stay  at  that  place. 
On  the  morrow  of  his  arrival,  being  the  Sabbath  day,  he 
addressed  his  countrymen  in  an  admirable  discourse,  the 
result  of  much  prayer  and  meditation.  The  subject 
matter  of  this  sermon,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  was 
delivered,  were  equally  striking.  The  clearness  and 
pathos  with  which  he  expressed  himself  on  this  occasion 
attracted  the  attention  of  all,  and  filled  many  with  a 
serious  concern  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints. 
Deists  themselves  listened  with  admiration  ;  while,  the 
multitude  appeared  as  though  they  saw  and  heard  one 
more  than  man.  To  adopt  the  French  idea,  he  carried 
off  the  whole  audience.  During  his  continuance  at  Nyon 
he  preached  in  different  churches  ;  and  wherever  he  was 
announced,  multitudes  flocked  from  all  quarters  to  attend 
him.  The  reputation  of  his  great  abilities  drew  together 
persons  of  every  description  ;  and  it  was  truly  refresh- 


LIFE  OF  KEV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


13S 


ing,  says  an  intimate  friend  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  who  was 
present  upon  these  occasions,  to  behold  the  powerful 
effects  of  the  Gospel  among  those  who,  before  that  time, 
had  seldom  or  never  heard  it  proclaimed  in  its  purity. 
Many  despisers  of  revelation  were  overawed  and  con- 
founded ;  many  formal  professors  were  touched  with 
the  power  of  true  religion  ;  and  many  careless  lovers  of 
pleasure  were  impressed  with  a  solemn  sense  of  eternal 
things.  A 

"  One  young  man  in  particular  was  so  deeply  affected 
by  the  discourses  of  this  powerful  preacher,  that  he  im- 
mediately resolved  to  consecrate  himself  to  the  service 
of  God  in  the  work  of  the  holy  ministry.  Accordingly 
he  betook  himself  from  that  time  to  studies  of  a  sacred 
nature,  and  is  at  this  day  minister  of  the  Protestant 
Church  at  Lyons.  Among  others,  a  good  old  minister, 
who  was  more  than  seventy  years  of  age  heard  him 
gladly;  and  earnestly  entreated  him  to  lengthen  out  his 
visit  at  Nyon,  though  it  should  be  but  for  a  single  week 
beyond  the  time  proposed  for  his  departure.  lie  urged 
his  request  with  much  importunity  ;  and  when  he  found 
that  his  desire  could  not  conveniently  be  complied  with, 
the  old  man  wept,  and  turning  to  Mr.  Fletcher's  fellow 
traveller,  affectingly  exclaimed,  '  O,  sir,  how  unfortunate 
for  this  country  ;  during  my  day  it  has  produced  but  one 
anijel  of  a  man,  and  it  is  our  lot  to  be  deprived  of  him  !' 
The  benefit  of  his  public  labours  in  this  place  was  sig- 
nificantly attested  by  the  numerous  applications  he  re- 
ceived in  private  for  religious  instruction.  And  the 
grateful  sense  his  countrymen  entertained  of  those  la- 
bours was  fully  expressed  in  their  affectionate  concern 
at  his  departure  from  among  them.  Weeping  multi- 
tudes crowded  around  his  carriage,  anxious  to  receive  a 
last  word  or  look  :  and  not  a  few  followed  his  chariot 
above  two  miles  from  the  town,  before  they  had  resolu- 
tion to  tear  themselves  entirely  away  from  the  company 
of  this  venerable  man. 

"  For  Nyon  to  be  deprived  of  the  ministry  of  this  illus- 
trious divine  was  truly  unfortunate;  but  it  was  equally 
happy  for  that  favoured  village  which  was  appointed  to 
be  die  scene  of  his  exemplary  labours.  There  his 
strength  and  his  arms  were  chiefly  exercised,  and  there 
his  most  important  victories  over  sin  were  obtained. 


136 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


There  his  name  will  long  continue  to  be  had  in  honour; 
and  from  thence  many  a  goodly  jewel  will  be  collected, 
to  form  for  him  a  crown  of  rejoicing  in  the  day  of  the 
Lord." 

15.  About  the  middle  of  summer,  as  far  as  I  recollect, 
in  that  year,  he  and  his  friend  returned  to  England. 
Soon  after  their  return,  I  had  the  happiness  of  being  fre- 
quently in  company  with  Mr.  Ireland,  first  at  Trevecka, 
in  Wales,  and  afterward  at  his  own  house  at  Bristol,  and 
of  hearing  many  pleasing  and  edifying  anecdotes  con- 
cerning Mr.  Fletcher,  and  the  circumstances  of  their 
journey.  I  lament  that  length  of  time,  and  the  multi- 
tude of  affairs  Providence  has  called  me  to  be  engaged 
in,  have  erased  these  so  far  from  my  memory  that  I  am 
not  able  to  give  a  clear  or  consistent  account  of  them. 
One  thing,  however,  I  well  remember,  and  shall  never 
forget,  and  that  is  the  very  high  esteem  and  veneration 
in  which  Mr.  Fletcher  was  held  by  his  friend  and  fellow 
traveller,  who,  during  the  five  months  spent  together  on 
their  tour,  had  seen  such  proofs  from  day  to  day  of  his 
exalted  piety,  fortitude,  and  wisdom,  that  he  was  per- 
fectly enraptured  with  him.  If  Mr.  Fletcher  had  been 
an  angel  in  human  Mesh,  his  friend  could  not  well  have 
held  him  in  higher  estimation,  nor  have  been  more  lavish 
and  incessant  in  his  praise.  He  was  careful,  however, 
to  ascribe  the  glory  of  all  the  excellences  that  were  in 
him  to  the  grace  of  God. 

16.  My  personal  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Fletcher  was 
then  but  slight.  I  had,  I  think,  only  had  two  or  three 
interviews  with  him,  which,  as  far  as  I  can  recollect, 
were  in  the  year  17(58,  when  I  was  classical  master  at 
Kingsvvood  school.  As  he  occasionally  made  an  excur- 
sion from  Madeley  to  Bristol  and  Bath,  in  one  of  those 
excursions  we  invited  him  to  preach  at  Kingswood.  He 
was  peculiarly  assisted  while  he  was  applying  those 
encouraging  words,  Him  that  comrth  unto  me  I  will  in 
no  wise  cast  out.  The  people  were  exceedingly  affect- 
ed ;  indeed  quite  melted  down.  The  tears  streamed  so 
fast  from  the  eyes  of  the  poor  colliers,  that  their  black 
faces  were  washed  by  them,  and  almost  universally 
streaked  with  white.  And  as  to  himself,  his  zealous 
soul  had  been  carried  out  so  far  beyond  his  strength, 
that  when  he  concluded,  he  put  off  a  shirt  which  was  as 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


[31 


wet  as  if  it  had  been  dipped  in  water.  But  this  was 
nothing  strange  :  wherever  he  preached  it  was  generally 
the  case.  From  this  time  I  conceived  a  particular  esteem 
for  him,  chiefly  on  account  of  his  piety  ;  and  wished 
much  for  a  farther  acquaintance  with  him  ;  a  blessing 
which  I  soon  after  obtained. 

17.  About  this  time  the  countess  of  Huntingdon  erected 
a  seminary  at  Trevccka,  in  Wales,  in  order  to  educate 
pious  young  men,  of  whatever  denomination,  for  the 
ministry.  She  proposed  to  admit  only  such  as  were 
truly  converted  to  God,  and  resolved  to  dedicate  them- 
selves to  his  service.  They  were  at  liberty  to  stay  there 
three  years,  during  which  lime  they  were  to  have  their 
education  gratis,  with  every  necessary  of  life,  and  a  suit 
of  clothes  once  a  year :  afterward  those  who  desired  it 
might  enter  into  the  ministry,  either  in  the  established 
Church  of  England,  or  among  Protestants  of  any  other 
denomination.  From  the  hi j>h  opinion  which  the  coun- 
tess had  of  Mr.  Fletcher's  piety,  learning,  and  abilities, 
for  such  an  office,  she  invited  him  to  undertake  the  super- 
intendence of  that  seminary :  not  that  he  could  promise 
to  be  generally  resident  there  :  much  less  constantly. 
His  duty  to  his  own  flock  at  Madeley  would  by  no  means 
admit  of  this.  But  he  was  to  attend  as  often  as  he  con- 
veniently could  ;  to  give  advice  with  regard  to  the  ap- 
pointment of  masters,  and  the  admission  or  exclusion  of 
students  ;  to  oversee  their  studies  and  conduct;  to  assist 
their  piety,  and  judge  of  their  qualifications  for  the  work 
of  the  ministry. 

18.  As  Mr.  Fletcher  greatly  approved  of  the  design, 
especially  considering;,  first,  That  none  were  to  be  ad- 
mitted but  such  as  feared  and  loved  God  ;  and  secondly, 
That  when  they  were  prepared  for  it,  they  were  to  be 
at  liberty  to  enter  into  the  ministry  wherever  Providence 
should  open  a  door;  he  readily  complied  with  the  invi- 
tation, and  undertook  the  charge.  This  he  did  without 
fee  or  reward,  from  the  sole  motive  of  being  useful  in 
the  most  important  work  of  training  up  persons  for  the 
glorious  office  of  preaching  the  Gospel.  And  some 
months  after,  with  the  same  view,  through  his  means, 
and  in  consequence  of  Mr.  Wesley's  recommendation  to 
her  ladyship,  I  was  made  head  master  of  the  academy, 
or  as  it  was  commonly  called,  the  college,  though  I  could 


13- 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


very  ill  be  spared  from  Kingswood,  where  I  had  acted  in 
that  capacity  about  four  years. 

19.  Being  yet  greatly  wanted  at  Kingswood,  and 
having  likewise  a  term  to  keep  at  Oxford,  I  could  only 
pay  them  a  short  visit  for  the  present,  which  was  in 
January,  1770.  But  in  the  spring  following  I  went  to 
reside  there  ;  and  for  some  time  was  well  satisfied  with 
my  situation.  The  young  men  were  serious,  and  made 
a  considerable  progress  in  learning  ;  and  many  of  them 
seemed  to  have  talents  for  the  ministry.  Mr.  Fletcher 
visited  them  frequently,  and  was  received  as  an  angel  of 
God.  It  is  not  possible  for  me  to  describe  the  vene- 
ration in  which  we  all  held  him.  Like  Elijah  in  the 
schools  of  the  prophets,  he  was  revered  ;  he  was  loved ; 
he  was  almost  adored  :  and  that  not  only  by  every  stu- 
dent, but  by  every  member  of  the  family.  And  indeed 
he  was  worthy.  The  reader  will  pardon  me  if  he  think 
I  exceed.  My  heart  kindles  while  I  write.  Here  it  was 
that  I  saw,  shall  I  say,  an  angel  in  human  flesh  ?  I 
should  not  far  exceed  the  truth  if  I  said  so.  But  here  I 
saw  a  descendant  of  fallen  Adam,  so  fully  raised  above 
the  ruins  of  the  fall,  that  though  by  the  body  he  was  tied 
down  to  earth,  yet  was  his  whole  conversation  in  hea- 
ven :  yet  was  his  life,  from  day  to  day,. Aid  with  Christ 
in  God.  Prayer,  praise,  love,  and  zeal,  all  ardent,  ele- 
vated above  what  one  would  think  attainable  in  this 
state  of  frailty,  were  the  element  in  which  he  continually 
lived.  And  as  to  others,  his  one  employment  was  to 
call,  entreat,  and  urge  them  to  ascend  with  him  to  the 
glorious  Source  of  being  and  blessedness.  He  had 
leisure  comparatively  for  nothing  else.  Languages, 
arts,  sciences,  grammar,  rhetoric,  logic,  even  divinity 
itself,  as  it  is  called,  were  all  laid  aside  when  he  ap- 
peared in  the  school  room  among  the  students.  His 
full  heart  would  not  suffer  him  to  be  silent.  He  must 
speak,  and  they  were  readier  to  hearken  to  this  servant 
and  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  than  to  attend  to  Sallust, 
Virgil,  Cicero,  or  any  Latin  or  Greek  historian,  poet,  or 
philosopher  they  had  been  engaged  in  reading.  And 
they  seldom  hearkened  long,  before  they  were  all  in 
tears,  and  every  heart  catched  fire  from  the  flame  that 
burned  in  his  soul. 

20,  These  seasons  generally  terminated  in  this  : — 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


139 


Bcinff  convinced  that  to  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
was  a  better  qualification  for  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel 
than  any  classical  learning,  (although  that  too  be  useful 
in  its  place,)  after  speaking  awhile  in  the  school  room, 
he  used  frequently  to  say,  "  As  many  of  you  as  are 
athirst  for  this  fulness  of  the  Spirit,  follow  me  into  my 
room."  On  this,  many  of  us  have  instantly  followed 
him,  and  there  continued  for  two  or  three  hour-s,  wrest- 
ling like  Jacob  for  the  blessing,  praying  one  after  an- 
other till  we  could  bear  to  kneel  no  longer.  This  was 
not  done  once  or  twice,  but  many  times.  And  I  have 
sometimes  seen  him  on  these  occasions,  once  in  parti- 
cular, so  filled  with  the  love  of  God,  that  he  could  con- 
tain no  more,  but  cried  out,  "O  my  God,  withhold  thy 
hand  or  the  vessel  will  burst."  But  he  afterward  told 
me  he  was  afraid  he  had  grieved  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  and 
that  he  ousjht  rather  to  have  prayed  that  the  Lord  would 
have  enlarged  the  vessel,  or  have  suffered  it  to  break, 
that  the  soul  might  have  had  no  farther  bar  or  interrup- 
tion to  its  enjoyment  of  the  Supreme  Good.  In  this 
he  was  certainly  right.  For,  as  Mr.  Wesley  has  ob- 
served, the  proper  prayer  on  such  an  occasion  would 
have  been, — 

"  Give  me  the  enlarged  desire, 

And  open,  Lord,  rny  soul, 
Thy  own  fulness  to  require, 

And  comprehend  the  whole! 
Stretch  my  faith's  capacity 

Wider  and  yet  wider  still : 
Then  with  all  that  is  in  thee 

My  ravish'd  spirit  fill." 

21.  Such  was  the  ordinary  employment  of  this  man 
of  God  while  he  remained  at  Trevecka.  He  preached 
the  word  of  life  to  the  students  and  family,  and  as  many 
of  the  neighbours  as  desired  to  be  present.  He  was 
instant  in  season  and  out  of  season ;  he  reproved,  re- 
buked, exhorted  with  all  long-suffering.  He  was  al- 
ways employed,  either  in  illustrating  some  important 
truth,  or  exhorting  to  some  neglected  duty,  or  adminis- 
tering some  needful  comfort,  or  relating  some  useful 
anecdote,  or  making  some  profitable  remark  or  obser- 
vation upon  some  occuirence.  And  his  devout  soul, 
always  burning  with  love  and  zeal,  led  him  to  inter- 


140 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


mingle  prayer  with  all  he  uttered.  Meanwhile  his  man- 
ner was  so  solemn,  and  at  the  same  time  so  mild  and 
insinuating,  that  it  was  hardly  possible  for  any  one  who 
had  the  happiness  of  being  in  his  company,  not  to  be 
struck  with  awe  and  charmed  with  love  as  if  in  the  pre- 
sence of  an  angel  or  departed  spirit.  Indeed  I  fre- 
quently thought,  while  attending  to  his  heavenly  dis- 
course and  Divine  spirit,  that  he  was  so  different  from, 
and  superior  to  the  generality  of  mankind,  as  to  look 
more  like  Moses,  or  Elijah,  or  some  prophet  or  apostle 
come  again  from  the  dead,  than  a  mortal  man  dwelling 
in  a  house  of  clay.  It  is  true,  his  weak  and  long  afflicted 
body  proclaimed  him  to  be  human.  But  the  graces 
which  so  eminently  filled  and  adorned  his  soul,  mani- 
fested him  to  be  Divine.  And  long  before  his  happy 
spirit  returned  to  God  who  gave  it,  that  which  was 
human  seemed  in  a  great  measure  to  be  swallowed  up 
of  life. 

22.  And  as  Mr.  Fletcher  was  thus  zealous  and  unwea- 
ried in  his  exhortations  to,  and  prayers  for,  the  students 
and  other  members  of  the  family,  while  present  with 
them,  so  he  was  far  from  being  inattentive  to  their  spi- 
ritual welfare  when  absent.  His  concern  for  their  pros- 
perity in  the  Divine  life  constrained  him,  during  his 
absence  from  them,  frequently  to  address  to  them  pas- 
toral letters  full  of  instruction  and  exhortation.  One  of 
these,  the  only  one  I  have  in  my  possession,  I  shall  here 
insert.  It  was  written  from  Madeley,  July  23,  1770, 
immediately  after  his  return  from  abroad. 

"  To  the  masters  and  students  of  Lady  Huntingdon's 
College. 

"Grace,  mercy,  and  peace  attend  you,  my  dear  bre- 
thren, from  God  our  Father,  and  from  our  Lord  and  Bro- 
ther, Jesus  Christ.  Brother,  do  I  say?  but  should  not  I 
rather  have  written  all  ?  Is  not  he  all  and  in  all?  All 
to  believers,  for  he  is  their  God  as  the  loyoc,  (the  Word,) 
and  their  Friend,  Brother,  Father,  Spouse,  &c,  &c,  &c, 
as  he  is  Aoyof  yevojisvo^  oap!j  (the  Word  made  flesh.)  From 
him,  through  him,  and  in  him,  I  salute  you  in  the  Spi- 
rit. I  believe  he  is  here  with  me  and  in  me  ;  I  believe 
he  is  yonder  with  you  and  in  you  ;  for  '  in  him  we  live, 
move,  and  have,'  not  only  our  animal,  but  rational,  and 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


141 


spiritual  1  being  '  I  believe  it,  I  say,  therefore  I  write. 
May  the  powerful  grain  of  faith  remove  the  mountain 
of  remaining  unbelief,  that  you  and  I  may  see  things  as 
God  sees  them  !  that  we  may  no  more  judge  by  ap- 
pearances, but  judge  righteous  judgment ;  that  we  may 
no  more  walk  by  carnal  sight,  but  by  faith,  the  sight  of 
God's  children  below  !  When  this  is  the  case,  we  shall 
discover  that  the  Creator  is  all  indeed,  and  that  crea- 
tures (which  we  are  wont  to  put  in  his  place  since  the 
fall)  are  mere  nothings,  passing  clouds  that  our  Sun  of 
righteousness  hath  thouglit  fit  to  clothe  himself  with,  and 
paint  some  of  his  glory  upon.  In  an  instant  he  could 
scatter  them  into  their  original  nothing,  or  resorb  them 
for  ever,  and  stand  without  competitor,  mrr  the  Being. 
But  suppose  that  all  creatures  should  stand  for  ever  little 
signatures  of  God,  what  are  they  even  in  their  most 
glorious  estate,  but  as  tapers  kindled  by  his  light,  as 
well  as  formed  by  his  power  ?  Now  conceive  a  Sun,  a 
spiritual  Sun,  whose  centre  is  everywhere,  whose  cir- 
cumference can  be  found  nowhere :  a  Sun  whose  lustre 
as  much  surpasses  the  brightness  of  the  luminary  that 
rules  the  day,  as  the  Creator  surpasses  the  creature  ; 
and  say,  what  are  the  twinkling  tapers  of  good  men  on 
earth,  what  is  the  smoking  flax  of  wicked  creatures — 
what  the  glittering  stars  of  saints  in  heaven?  Why, 
they  are  all  lost  in  his  transcendent  glory ;  and  if  any 
of  these  would  set  himself  up  as  an  object  of  esteem, 
regard,  or  admiration,  he  must  indeed  be  mad  with  self 
and  pride  ;  he  must  be  (as  dear  Mr.  Harris  hath  often 
told  us)  a  foolish  apostate,  a  devil.  Understand  this, 
believe  this,  and  you  will  sink  to  unknown  depths  of 
self-horror,  for  having  aspired  at  being  somebody,  self- 
humiliation  for  seeing  yourself  nobody,  or  what  is  worse, 
an  evil  body.  But  I  would  not  have  you  dwell  even  upon 
this  evil,  so  as  to  lose  sight  of  your  Sun,  unless  it  be  to 
see  him  covered,  on  this  account,  with  your  flesh  and 
blood,  and  wrapped  in  the  cloud  of  our  nature.  Then 
you  will  cry  out  with  St.  Paul,  O  the  depth  !  Then, 
finding  the  manhood  is  again  resorbed  into  the  Godhead, 
you  will  gladly  renounce  all  selfish,  separate  existence 
in  Adam  and  from  Adam  :  you  will  take  Christ  to  be 
your  life  ;  you  will  become  his  members  by  eating  his 
flesh  and  drinking  his  blood  ;  you  will  consider  his  flesh 


142 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


as  your  flesh,  his  bone  as  your  bone,  his  Spirit  as  your 
spirit,  his  righteousness  as  your  righteousness,  his  cross 
as  your  cross,  and  his  crown  (whether  of  thorns  or 
glory)  as  your  crown  :  you  will  reckon  yourselves  to 
be  dead  indeed  unto  sin,  but  alive  unto  God,  through 
this  dear  Redeemer ;  you  will  renounce  propriety,  you 
will  heartily  and  gladly  say,  'Not  I,  not  I,  but  Christ 
liveth,'  and  only  because  he  lives  I  do,  and  shall  live 
also.  When  it  is  so  with  us,  then  are  we  creatures  in 
our  Creator,  and  redeemed  creatures  in  our  Redeemer. 
Then  we  understand  and  feel  what  he  says  :  Separate 
from  me,  xuPLi  f/"ti  TS  *"r*  *6£V  xup'c  ~«  cunjpo^ 
u  dwacr&e  noucv  udev — (Without  me,  the  Creator,  ye  are 
nothing  ;  without  me,  the  Saviour,  ye  can  do  nothing.) 
'  The  moment  I  consider  Christ  and  myself  as  two,  I 
am  gone,'  says  Luther,  and  I  say  so  too  ;  I  am  gone 
into  self,  and  into  antichrist,  for  that  which  will  be 
something,  will  not  let  Christ  be  all,  and  that  which 
will  not  let  Christ  be  all  must  certainly  be  antichrist. 
What  a  poor,  jejune,  dry  thing  is  doctrinal  Christianity, 
compared  with  the  clear  and  heart-felt  assent  that  the 
believer  gives  to  these  fundamental  truths  !  What  life, 
what  strength,  what  comfort  flow  out  from  them  !  O 
my  friends,  let  us  believe,  and  we  shall  see,  taste,  and 
handle  the  word  of  life.  When  I  stand  in  unbelief,  I 
am  like  a  drop  of  muddy  water  drying  up  in  the  sun 
of  temptation  ;  I  can  neither  comfort,  nor  help,  nor 
preserve  myself;  when  I  do  believe  and  close  in  with 
Christ,  I  am  like  that  same  drop  losing  itself  in  a 
boundless,  bottomless  sea  of  purity,  light,  life,  power, 
and  love  ;  there  my  good  and  mxj  evil  are  equally  no- 
thing, equally  swallowed  up,  and  grace  reigns  through 
righteousness  unto  eternal  life.  There  I  wish  you  all 
to  be ;  there  I  beg  you  and  I  may  meet,  with  all  God's 
children.  I  long  to  see  you  that  I  may  impart  unto 
you  (should  God  make  use  of  such  a  worm)  some  spi- 
ritual gift,  and  that  I  may  be  comforted  by  the  mutual 
faith  both  of  you  and  me,  and  by  your  growth  in  grace, 
and  in  Divine  as  well  as  human  wisdom,  during  my  long 
absence. 

"  I  hope  matters  will  be  contrived  so  that  I  may  be 
with  you,  to  behold  your  order,  before  the  anniversary ; 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


[43 


meanwhile  I  remain  your  affectionate  fellow  labourer 
and  servant  in  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  J.  F." 

23.  But  how  came  Mr.  Fletcher  to  leave  Trevecka  ? 
Why  did  he  give  up  an  office  for  which  he  was  so  per- 
fectly well  qualified,  which  he  executed  so  entirely  to 
the  satisfaction  uf  all  the  parties  with  whom  he  was  con- 
cerned, and  in  which  it  had  pleased  God  to  give  so 
manifest  a  blessing  to  his  labours  ?  Perhaps  it  would  be 
better,  in  tenderness  to  some  persons  eminent  for  piety 
and  usefulness,  to  let  that  matter  remain  still  under  the 
veil  which  forgiving  love  has  cast  over  it.  But  if  it  be 
thought  that  justice  to  his  character,  and  to  the  cause 
which,  from  that  time  he  so  warmly  espoused  and 
so  ably  defended,  requires  some  light  to  be  cast  upon 
it,  it  may  be  the  most  inoffensive  way  to  do  it  in  his  own 
words. 

It  will  be  proper  to  observe  here,  for  the  better  under- 
standing of  the  following  letter,  that  some  time  before 
Mr.  Fletcher  quitted  Trevecka,  I  had  been  discharged 
from  my  office  there;  "not  (as  Mr.  Wesley  has  justly 
observed  in  the  former  edition  of  this  Life)  for  any  de- 
fect of  learning  or  piety,  or  any  fault  found  with  my 
behaviour  ;  for  nothing  of  that  kind  was  so  much  a.? 
pretended ;  but  wholly  and  solely  because  I  did  not  be- 
lieve the  doctrine  of  absolute  predestination." 

24.  The  following  is  an  exact  copy  of  all  that  is  ma- 
terial in  a  letter  Mr.  Fletcher  wrote  to  me,  in  conse- 
quence of  my  dismission  from  the  office  I  had  sustained 
there : — 

"  January  7,  1771. 
"Dear  Sir, — The  same  post  brought  me  yours  and 
two  from  my  lady,  and  one  from  Mr.  Williams,  (a  clergy- 
man, who,  professing  to  be  under  serious  impressions, 
had  been  permitted  by  her  ladyship  to  stay  a  few  weeks 
at  the  college  ;  but  was  neither  master  nor  student,  and 
termed  by  Mr.  Fletcher  '  a  bird  of  passage.')  Their  let- 
ters contained  no  charges,  but  general  ones,  which  with 
me  go  for  nothing.  If  the  procedure  you  mention  be 
fact,  and  your  letter  be  a  fair  account  of  the  transactions 
and  words  relative  to  your  discharge,  a  false  step  has 
been  taken.  I  write  by  this  post  to  her  ladyship  on  the 
affair  with  all  possible  plainness.  If  the  plan  of  the 
college  be  overthrown,  I  have  nothing  more  to  say  to  it. 


144 


LIFE  OF  KEV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


I  will  keep  to  my  tent  for  one  ;  the  confined  tool  of  any 
one  party  I  never  was,  and  never  will  be.  If  the  blow 
that  should  have  been  struck  at  the  dead  spirit  is  struck 
(contrary  to  the  granted  liberty  of  sentiment)  at  dead 
Arminius,  or  absent  Mr.  Wesley  ;  if  a  master  is  turned 
away  without  any  fault,  it  is  time  for  me  to  stand  up 
with  firmness,  or  to  withdraw." 

At  the  same  time  the  following  paragraphs  were  tran- 
scribed and  sent  to  me  by  Mr.  Fletcher,  from  his  letter 
to  my  lady  on  this  occasion  : — 

"  Mr.  Benson  made  a  very  just  defence  when  he  said 
he  did  hold  with  me  the  possibility  of  salvation  for  all 
men ;  that  mercy  is  offered  to  all,  and  yet  may  be  re- 
ceived  or  rejected.  If  this  be  what  your  ladyship  calls 
Mr.  Wesley's  opinion,  free  will,  and  Arminianism,  and 
if  'every  Arminian  must  quit  the  college,'  I  am  actually 
discharged  also.  For  in  my  present  view  of  things  I 
must  hold  that  sentiment,  if  I  believe  that  the  Bible  is 
true,  and  that  God  is  love. 

"  For  my  part,  I  am  no  party  man.  In  the  Lord  I  am 
your  servant,  and  that  of  your  every  student.  But  I 
cannot  give  up  the  honour  of  being  connected  with  my 
old  friends,  who,  notwithstanding  their  failings,  are 
entitled  to  my  respect,  gratitude,  and  assistance,  could 
I  occasionally  give  them  any.  Mr.  Wesley  shall  always 
be  welcome  to  my  pulpit,  and  I  shall  gladly  bear  my 
testimony  in  his,  as  well  as  in  Mr.  Whitefield's.  But  if 
your  ladyship  forbid  your  students  to  preach  for  the 
one,  and  offer  them  to  preach  for  the  other,  at  every 
turn  ;  and  if  a  master  is  discarded  for  believing  that 
Christ  died  for  all ;  then  prejudice  reigns  ;  charity  is 
cruelly  wounded  ;  and  party  spirit  shouts,  prevails,  and 
triumphs." 

In  the  same  letter  in  which  he  transcribed  the  above 
paragraphs,  he,  in  a  most  Christian  spirit,  gave  me  the 
following  caution : — "  Take  care,  my  dear  sir,  not  to 
make  matters  worse  than  they  are :  and  cast  the  mantle 
of  forgiving  love  over  the  circumstances  that  might 
injure  the  cause  of  God,  so  far  as  it  is  put  into  the  hands 
of  that  eminent  lady,  who  hath  so  well  deserved  of  the 
Church  of  Christ.  Rather  suffer  in  silence,  than  make 
a  noise  to  cause  the  Philistines  to  triumph.  Do  not  let 
go  your  expectation  of  a  baptism  from  above,"  (mean- 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


148 


ing  a  larger  measure  of  the  influences  of  the  Spirit  of 
God,  for  which  I  was  then  much  athirst.)  "May  you 
be  supported  and  directed  in  this  and  every  other  trial, 
and  niav  peace  be  extended  to  vou  as  a  river.  Farewell 

"J.  F." 

25.  The  above  letter  he  directed  to  the  New-Room, 
Horse  Fair,  Bristol,  supposing  it  would  find  me  there; 
but  understanding  by  another  letter  from  me  that  I  was 
still  in  Wales,  two  days  after  he  wrote  again,  repeating 
the  chief  part  of  the  above  letter,  and  adding,  "I  am 
determined  to  stand  or  fall  with  the  liberty  of  the  col- 
lege. As  I  entered  it  a  free  place,  I  must  quit  it  the 
moment  it  is  a  harbour  for  party  spirit. 

"  As  I  am  resolved  to  clear  up  this  matter,  or  quit  my 
province,  I  beg  you  will  help  me  to  as  many  facts  and 
words,  truly  done,  and  really  spoken,  as  you  can ; 
whereby  I  may  show,"  (to  the  parties  concerned  at 
Trevecka,)  "that  false  reports,  groundless  suspicions, 
party  spirit  against  Mr.  Wesley,  arbitrary  proceedings, 
and  unscriptural  impulses,  hold  the  reins  and  manage 
affairs  in  the  college  ;  as  also  that  the  balance  of  opi- 
nions is  not  maintained,  and  Mr.  Wesley's  opinions  are 
dreaded,  and  struck  at,  more  than  deadness  of  heart, 
and  a  wrong  conduct."  Here  again  as  a  Christian  he 
cautions  :  "  Do  not  make  matters  worse  than  they  are  ; 
I  fear  they  are  bad  enough.  So  far  as  we  can,  let  us 
keep  this  matter  to  ourselves.  When  you  speak  of  it 
to  others,  rather  endeavour  to  palliate  than  aggravate 
what  hath  been  wrong  in  your  opposers:  remember 
that  great  lady  has  been  an  instrument  of  great  good, 
and  that  there  are  great  inconsistencies  attending  the 
greatest  and  best  of  men.  Possess  your  soul  in  pa- 
tience;  see  the  salvation  of  God;  and  believe,  though 
against  hope,  that  light  will  spring  out  of  darkness.  I 
am  with  concern  for  you  and  that  poor  college,  yours, 
in  Jesus,  J.  F." 

26.  Soon  after  this  he  visited  the  college,  himself, 
when  he  had  an  opportunity  of  examining  every  thing 
on  the  spot,  and  of  seeing,  with  his  own  eyes,  how  mat- 
ters were  conducted.  The  following  is  the  account 
which  he  gave  me,  as  the  result  of  his  observations,  in 
a  letter  dated  March  22,  1771  :— 

"  My  Dear  Friend, — On  my  arrival  at  the  college,  I 
7 


146 


LIFE  OP  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


found  all  very  quiet,  I  fear  through  the  enemy's  keep- 
ing his  goods  in  peace.  While  I  preached  the  next  day, 
I  found  myself  as  much  shackled  as  ever  I  was  in  my 
life.  And  after  private  prayer,  I  concluded  I  was  not 
in  my  place.  The  same  day  I  resigned  my  office  to 
my  lady,  and  on  Wednesday  to  the  students  and  the 
lord.  Nevertheless  I  went  on  as  usual,  only  had  no 
heart  to  give  little  charges  to  the  students  as  before.  I 
should  possibly  have  got  over  it  as  a  temptation,  if  seve- 
ral circumstances  had  not  confirmed  me  in  my  design. 
Two  I  shall  mention,  because  they  are  worth  a  thousand. 
When  Mr.  Sh — y  was  at  the  college,  what  you  had  writ- 
ten upon  the  'baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost,'  was  taken  to 
pieces.  Mr.  Sh — y  maintained  that  the  prophecy  of 
Joel,  Acts  ii,  had  its  complete  fulfilment  on  the  day  of 
pentecost,  and  thus  he  turned  the  streams  of  living  wa- 
ters into  imperceptible  dews,  ne/nine  contradiccnte,  (no 
one  gainsaying,)  except  two,  who  made  one  or  two 
feeble  objections  :  so  that  the  point  was,  in  my  judg- 
ment, turned  out  of  the  college  after  you,  and  abused 
under  the  name  of  '  Perfection.'  This  showed  I  was 
not  likely  to  receive  or  do  any  good  there. 

"  Some  days  after  my  arrival,  however,  I  preached 

the  good  old  doctrine  before  my  lady  and  Mr.  H  . 

The  latter  talked  also  of  imperceptible  influences,  and 
the  former  thanked  me,  but,  in  my  apprehension,  spoiled 
all  by  going  to  the  college  the  next  day,  to  give  a  charge 
partly  against  perfection  in  my  absence. 

"In  the  meantime  Mr.  Shirley  has  sent  my  lady  a 
copy  of  the  doctrinal  part  of  the  Minutes  of  the  last 
conference,  (viz.,  of  the  year  1770.)  They  were  called 
horrible,  abominable,  and  subversive  articuli  stantis  vel 
cadentis  ecclesiac :  (of  the  pillar  on  which  the  Church 
stands,  or  with  which  it  falls.)  My  lady  told  me  'she 
must  burn  against  them  :  and  that  whoever  did  not  fully 
disavow  them,  should  quit  the  college.'  Accordingly 
an  order  came  for  the  master,  a  very  insufficient  person, 
and  the  students,  to  write  their  sentiments  upon  them 
without  reserve.  I  also  did  so  ;  explained  them  accord- 
ing to  Mr.  Wesley's  sentiments  ;  and  approved  the  doc- 
trine, blaming  only  the  unguarded  and  not  sufficiently 
explicit  manner  in  which  it  was  worded.  I  concluded 
by  observing  that  as,  after  such  a  step  on  my  part,  and 


LIFE  UF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


117 


such  a  declaration  on  her  ladyship's,  I  could  no  longer, 
as  an  honest  man,  stay  in  the  college,  I  took  djy  leave  of 
it ;  wishing  my  lady  might  find  a  minister  to  preside  over 
it  less  insufficient,  and  more  willing  to  go  certain  lengths 
into  what  appeared  to  me  party  spirit  than  I  am. 

"To  be  short,  I  pleaded  my  cause  with  my  lady,  who 
seemed  at  last  sensible  of  the  force  of  my  reasons.  I 
advised  her,  as  her  college  was  Calvinistic,  to  getaCal- 

vinistic  president  for  it,  and  recommended  Mr.  R.  H  . 

My  lady  was  so  far  prevailed  upon  by  my  stand  for  Mr. 
Wesley  as  to  design  to  write  him  a  civil  letter,  to  demand 
an  explication  of  the  obnoxious  propositions  of  the 
Minutes,  and  seemed  rather  for  peace  than  war,  and 
friendship  e minus,  (at  a  distance,)  than  battle  cominus, 
(hand  to  hand.)  Last  Friday  I  left  them  all  in  peace, 
the  servant,  but  no  more  the  president  of  the  college. 
My  lady  behaved  with  great  candour  and  condescension 
toward  me  in  the  aifair.  As  for  you,  you  are  still  out 
of  her  books,  and  are  likely  so  to  continue.  Your  last 
letters  have  only  thrown  oil  upon  the  fire:  all  was  seen 
in  the  same  light  in  which  Mr.  Wesley's  letter  appeared. 
You  were  accused  of  having  alienated  my  heart  from 
the  college  ;  but  I  have  cleared  you. 

"  I  rejoice  that  your  desires  after  a  larger  measure  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  increase.  Part  rather  with  your  heart's 
blood  than  with  them.  Let  me  meet  you  at  the  throne 
of  grace,  and  send  me  word  how  you  dispose  of  your- 
self. If  you  are  at  a  loss  for  a  prophet's  room,  remem- 
ber I  have  one  here,  J-  F." 

27.  Such  were  the  reasons  why  Mr.  Fletcher  resigned 
his  charge  at  Trcvecka.  Soon  after  this,  the  contro- 
versy respecting  the  propositions  of  the  before  men- 
tioned Minutes  began.  For  although  Lady  II.  had  sig- 
nified to  Mr.  Fletcher  that  it  was  her  design  to  write 
to  Mr.  Wesley,  and  demand  an  explication  of  these  ob- 
noxious propositions,  it  does  not  appear  that  this  was  ever 
done,  either  by  her  ladyship  or  any  one  of  her  friends. 
On  the  contrary,  the  well  known  Circular  Letter  now 
went  abroad,  under  the  name  of  Mr.  Shirley,  inviting 
the  clergy  of  all  denominations  to  assemble  in  a  body  at 
Bristol,  to  oppose  Mr.  Wesley  and  the  preachers,  when 
they  should  meet  in  conference,  which  they  were  ex- 
pected to  do  in  the  beginning  of  the  ensuing  August, 


148 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


and  to  oblige  them  to  revoke  the  dreadful  heresies  con- 
tained in  those  Minutes.  As  Mr.  Fletcher  thought  the 
Churches  throughout  Christendom  were  verging  very 
fast  toward  Antinomianism,  he  judged  the  propositions 
contained  in  those  Minutes  ought  rather  to  be  confirmed 
than  revoked.  And  as  he  was  now  retired  to  his  parish, 
he  had  more  leisure  for  such  a  work  than  before. 
Therefore,  after  much  prayer  and  consideration,  he  de- 
termined to  write  in  defence  of  them.  In  how  able  a 
manner  he  did  this,  I  need  not  tell  any  that  have  read 
those  incomparable  writings.  I  know  not  how  to  give 
the  character  of  them  better  than  in  the  words  of  Dr. 
Dixon,  then  principal  of  Edmund-Hall,  Oxford,  whose 
kindness  to  me  I  shall  ever  remember,  and  to  whom  I 
sent  Mr.  Fletcher's  Checks,  with  a  recommendatory  let- 
ter.   He  answered  me  as  follows : — 

"Dear  Sir, — When  I  first  read  yours,  I  must  own 
I  suspected  your  friendship  for  Mr.  Fletcher  had  made 
you  too  lavish  in  your  commendation  of  his  writings  ; 
and  that  when  I  came  to  read  them,  I  should  find  some 
abatements  necessary  to  be  made.  But  now  I  have  read 
them,  I  am  far  from  thinking  you  have  spoken  extrava- 
gantly ;  or,  indeed,  that  too  much  can  be  said  in  com- 
mendation of  them.  I  had  not  read  his  first  letter  be- 
fore I  was  so  charmed  with  the  spirit  as  well  as  the 
abilities  of  the  writer,  that  the  gushing  tear  could  not 
be  hindered  from  giving  full  testimony  of  my  heart-felt 
satisfaction.  Perhaps  some  part  of  this  pleasure  might 
arise  from  finding  my  own  sentiments  so  fully  embraced 
by  the  author.  But  sure  I  am,  the  greatest  share  of  it 
arose  from  finding  those  benevolent  doctrines  so  firmly 
established  ;  and  that  with  such  judgment,  clearness, 
and  precision,  as  are  seldom,  very  seldom,  to  be  met 
with.  What  crowns  the  whole  is,  the  amiable  and 
Christian  temper,  which  those  who  will  not  be  convinced, 
must,  however,  approve,  and  wish  that  their  own  doc- 
trines may  be  constantly  attended  with  the  same  spirit" 

28.  "How  much  good,"  says  Mr.  Wesley,  "has  been 
occasioned  by  the  publication  of  that  Circular  Letter! 
This  was  the  happy  occasion  of  Mr.  Fletcher's  writing 
those  'Checks  to  Antinomianism,'  in  which  one  knows 
not  which  to  admire  most,  the  purity  of  the  language  ; 
(such  aa  scarce  any  foreigner  wrote   before ;)  the 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


1  If1 


strength  and  clearness  of  the  argument ;  or  the  mild- 
ness and  sweetness  of  the  spirit  that  breathes  through- 
out the  whole.  Insomuch  that  I  nothing  wonder  at  a 
serious  clergyman  who,  being  resolved  to  live  and  die 
in  his  own  opinion,  when  he  was  pressed  to  read  them, 
replied,  '  No,  I  will  never  read  Mr.  Fletcher's  Checks  : 
for  if  I  did,  I  should'be  of  his  mind.'  " 

29.  A  short  extract  from  two  or  three  of  his  letters, 
will  show  what  was  his  state  of  mind  at  this  crisis. 
"  How  much  water,"  says  he  to  me,  August  24,  of  the 
same  year,  "may  at  last  rush  out  of  a  little  opening  ! 
What  are  our  dear  1 — 's  jealousies  come  to  ?  Ah,  poor 
college  !  Their  conduct,  and  charges  of  heresy,  &c, 
among  other  reasons,  have  stirred  me  up  to  write  in  de- 
fence of  the  Minutes.  I  have  received  this  morning  a 
most  kind  letter  from  Mr.  Shirley,  whom  I  pity  much 
now.  He  is  gone  to  Wales,  probably  to  consult  (with 
her  1 — p)  what  to  do  in  the  present  case.  Methinks  I 
dream,  when  I  reflect  I  have  wrote  on  controversy! 
The  last  subject  I  thought  I  should  have  meddled  with. 
I  expect  to  be  roughly  handled  on  the  account.  Lord, 
prepare  ine  for  this,  and  every  thing  that  may  make  me 
cease  from  man,  and  above  all  from  vour  unworthy 
friend,  '         J.  F." 

Three  months  after,  he  writes  as  follows  in  answer  to 
a  letter  of  mine,  in  which  I  had  taken  the  liberty  of 
advising  him  to  use  much  precision  in  stating  the  scrip- 
tural doctrine  respecting  works  being  the  necessary 
fruits  of  faith.  His  words  demonstrate  the  deep  humi- 
lity of  his  mind,  and  the  mean  opinion  he  had  of  him- 
self, even  as  a  writer,  in  which  province  he  certainly 
greatly  excelled  :  "  I  thank  you  for  your  caution  about 
works.  I  sent  last  week  a  letter  of  fifty  pages  upon 
Antinomianism  to  the  book  steward.  I  beg,  as  upon 
my  bended  knees,  you  would  revise  and  correct  it,  and 
take  off  quod  durius  sonat  (what  sounds  harsh)  in  point 
of  works,  (subject,)  reproof,  and  style.  I  have  followed 
my  light,  which  is  but  that  of  a  smoking  flax  :  put  yours 
to  mine.  I  am  charged  hereabouts  with  scattering  fire- 
brands, arrows,  and  death.  Quench  some  of  my  brands, 
blunt  some  of  my  arrows,  and  take  off  all  my  deaths, 
except  that  which  I  design  for  Antinomianism. 

"  As  I  have  taken  up  my  pen,  I  will  clear  myself  in. 


160 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


another  respect,  that  is,  with  regard  to  the  Aritinomian 
opposition  made  to  Christian  perfection.  I  have  begun 
my  tract,  and  hope  to  tell  the  truth  in  perfect  consistency 
with  Mr.  Wesley's  system.  I  once  begged  you  would 
give  me  a  copy  of  what  you  wrote  upon  it.  Now  is  the 
time  to  repeat  that  request.  Send  it  me  (with  additions, 
if  you  can)  as  soon  as  possible.  When  I  send  my  manu- 
script to  London,  remember  it  will  be  chiefly  for  your 
alterations  and  corrections." 

30.  The  reader  will  observe  that  at  this  time  his  Ap 
peal  to  Matter  of  Fact  and  Common  Sense,  that  admi- 
rable treatise  on  the  subject  of  original  sin,  and  human 
depravity,  was  not  published.  It  had  indeed  been  com- 
posed near  a  year  before.  I  saw  it  in  manuscript  at 
Madeley  the  January  preceding,  and  read  most  of  it 
over  with  him,  while  Ins  humility  induced  him  con- 
stantly to  urge,  as  in  the  above  letter,  that  I  would  pro- 
pose any  alterations  or  corrections  which  I  thought 
proper  to  be  made.  In  his  next  letter,  dated  December 
10th,  he  mentions  the  apprehension  he  was  under  that 
the  manuscript  was  lost.  lie  had  left  it  at  Bristol,  and 
having  sent  for  it  from  thence,  with  a  view  to  make 
some  farther  improvements  in  the  style  or  matter  be- 
fore it  was  sent  to  the  press,  it  had  not  arrived  as 
expected,  nor  been  heard  of  for  many  weeks.  How- 
ever, he  was  quite  easy  under  the  apprehended  loss, 
which  certainly  would  not  have  been  a  small  one,  as  any 
person  will  judge,  who  considers  how  much  thought  and 
time  such  a  work  must  have  cost  him.  It  was  found, 
however,  by  and  by,  had  the  finishing  hand  put  to  it, 
and  was  published  to  the  conviction  and  edification  of 
thousands.  I  hardly  know  a  treatise  that  has  been  so 
universally  read,  or  made  so  eminently  useful. 

31.  Mr.  Fletcher's  pen,  however,  was  chiefly  employed 
at  this  time  and  thenceforward,  as  long  as  his  health 
permitted  him  to  write  at  all,  on  controversial  subjects  ; 
subjects  in  which  he  at  first  engaged  with  great  reluc- 
tance, which  he  never  loved,  which  he  was  frequently 
disposed  to  have  relinquished,  had  a  sense  of  duty  per- 
mitted him  so  to  do  ;  but  which  he  never  repented  hav- 
ing undertaken  to  discuss  and  elucidate.  It  is  true,  he 
met  with  no  little  opposition,  and  even  reproach,  while 
he  was  engaged  in  writing  on  these  subjects.    As  he 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


i:>t 


says  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  written  about 
this  time,  he  "  met  with  the  loss  of  friends,  and  with  the 
charges  of  novel  chimeras  on  both  sides."  Some  that 
had  loved  him  as  their  own  souls  before,  being  vexed 
and  chagrined  at  finding  their  favourite  opinions,  which 
they  had  laid  as  the  foundation  of  their  hopes,  under- 
mined and  overthrown,  poured  forth  their  abuse  in  a 
very  liberal  manner.  One  warm  young  man  in  parti- 
cular, whom  I  well  knew,  and  who,  while  a  student  at 
Trevecka,  had  revered  and  loved  Mr.  Fletcher  as  a 
father,  after  using  many  reproachful  expressions,  added, 
as  a  finishing  stroke,  "  If  you  die  in  the  faith  your  book 
maintains,  you  will  be  shut  out  of  heaven."  "  You  see 
by  this."  says  Mr.  Fletcher  to  me  in  the  letter  in  which 
he  meutions  that  circumstance,  "  I  cut  rather  deeper 
than  our  friends  can  bear."  This  was  in  February, 
1772,  when  his  Third  Check,  in  answer  to  the  author 
of  Pietas  Oxonieusis,  was  in  the  press;  at  which  time, 
he  says,  "  I  long  to  be  out  of  controversy  '■  I  make  a 
bridge  in  my  postscript  for  a  retreat :"  which  words 
were  dictated,  not  by  any  distrust  of  the  truth  or  im- 
portance of  the  principles  he  had  espoused,  or  of  his 
ability,  through  Divine  aid,  to  defend  them  ;  but  by  his 
love  of  peace  and  unanimity  among  the  followers  of 
Jesus,  and  his  great  and  constant  aversion  to  dispute  and 
contention. 

32.  That  Mr.  Fletcher  had  no  doubt  but  controversy, 
on  some  occasions,  is  both  expedient  and  necessary, 
yea,  and  productive  of  much  good  to  the  Church  of  God, 
is  certain  from  what  he  observes  on  this  subject  in  the 
beginning  of  the  last  mentioned  tract.  Mr.  Hill  had  said, 
in  the  title  page  of  his  Five  Letters,  to  which  that  tract 
was  an  answer,  that  a  concern  for  "  mourning  back- 
sliders, and  such  as  have  been  distressed  by  reading  Mr. 
Wesley's  Minutes,  or  the  Vindication  of  them,"  had  in- 
duced him  to  write  :  "  Permit  me  to  inform  you  in  my 
turn,"  says  Mr.  Fletcher,*  "  that  I  fear  lest  Dr.  Crisp'sf 
balm  should  be  applied  instead  of  the  balm  ofGilcad,  to 
Laodicean  loiterers,  who  may  haply  have  been  brought 
to  penitential  distress,  obliges  me  to  answer  you  in  the 
same  public  manner  in  which  you  address  me.    Some  of 

♦  Third  Check,  p.  3. 

I  Dr.  Crisp  was  an  Antinomian  in  doctrine. 


152 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


our  friends  will  undoubtedly  blame  us  for  not  yet  drop- 
ping the  contested  point ;  but  others  will  candidly  con- 
sider that  controversy,  though  not  desirable  in  itself,  yet 
properly  managed,  has  a  hundred  times  rescued  truth 
groaning  under  the  lash  of  triumphant  error.  We  are 
indebted  to  our  Lord's  controversies  with  the  Pharisees 
and  scribes  for  a  considerable  part  of  the  four  gospels. 
And,  to  the  end  of  the  world,  the  Church  will  bless  God 
for  the  spirited  manner  in  which  St.  Paul,  in  his  Epistles 
to  the  Romans  and  Galatians,  defended  the  controverted 
point  of  a  believer's  present  justification  by  faith,  as  well 
as  for  the  steadiness  with  which  St.  James,  St.  John,  St. 
Peter,  and  St.  Jude  carried  on  their  important  contro- 
versy with  the  Nicolaitans,  who  abused  St.  Paul's  doc- 
trine to  Antinomian  purposes.  Had  it  not  been  for 
controversy,  Romish  priests  would  to  this  day  feed  us 
with  Latin  masses  and  a  wafer  god.  Some  bold  pro- 
positions advanced  by  Luther  against  the  doctrine  of 
indulgences  unexpectedly  brought  on  the  Reformation. 
They  were  so  irrationally  attacked  by  the  infatuated 
Papists,  and  so  scripturally  defended  by  the  resolute 
Protestants,  that  these  kingdoms  opened  their  eyes,  and 
saw  thousands  of  images  and  errors  fall  before  the  ark 
of  evangelical  truth. 

"  From  what  I  have  advanced,"  proceeds  Mr.  Fletcher, 
"  in  my  Second  Check,  it  appears,  if  I  am  not  mistaken, 
that  we  stand  now  as  much  in  need  of  a  reformation  from 
Antinomianism  as  our  ancestors  did  of  a  reformation 
from  popery ;  and  I  am  not  without  hope,  that  the  ex- 
traordinary attack  which  has  lately  been  made  on  Mr. 
Wesley's  Anti-Crispian  propositions,  and  the  manner  in 
which  they  are  defended,  will  open  the  eyes  of  many, 
and  check  the  rapid  progress  of  so  enchanting  and  per- 
nicious an  evil.  This  hope  inspires  me  with  fresh  cou- 
rage :  and  turning  from  the  honourable  and  Rev.  Mr. 
Shirley,  I  presume  to  face,  I  trust  in  the  spirit  of  love 
and  meekness,  my  new  respectable  opponent." 

Such  were  Mr.  Fletcher's  views  when  he  began  his 
Third  Check,  and  they  were  not  changed  when  he  had 
finished  it,  nor  indeed  when  he  had  finished  the  Fourth, 
which  he  wrote  in  the  spring  of  this  same  year.  A 
friend  has  favoured  me  with  a  letter  of  his,  in  his  own 
handwriting,  to  Mr,  Charles  Perronet,  son  of  the  Rev, 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


153 


Vincent  Perronet,  vicar  of  Shoreham,  dated  Septem- 
ber 7th,  1772,  in  which  he  observes  : — "  Mr.  Hill,  sen., 
hath  complimented  me  with  eleven  letters,"  (including 
the  former  jive,  in  answer  to  which  he  wrote  the  Third 
Check,  and  the  latter  six,  which  were  answered  in  the 
Fourth.)  "  and  his  brother,  Mr.  R.  Hill,  with  another, 
one  half  of  which  is  employed  in  passing  sentence  upon 
my  spirit.  I  have  answered  them  both  in  a  Fourth 
Check,  which  I  hope  will  decide  the  controversy  about 
the  important  Anti-Crispian  doctrine  of  justification  by 
(the  evidence  of)  works  in  the  last  day.  If  that  doc- 
trine stand,  there  is  an  end  of  imputed  righteousness," 
that  is,  in  the  Antinomian  sense  of  the  phrase,  "absolute 
election  and  predestination.  And  I  do  not  see  that  they 
have  any  thing  to  object  to,  but  mere  cavils  which  dis- 
grace their  cause." 

.33.  The  intelligent  and  pious  person  to  whom  this  let- 
ter was  written,  was  at  that  time  under  affliction  which 
had  considerably  reduced  his  strength  and  depressed  his 
spirits.  The  reader  will  be  pleased,  and  I  hope  also 
profited,  by  Mr.  Fletcher's  address  to  him  on  this  occa- 
sion, which  I  copy  from  the  same  letter. 

"  My  Very  Dear  Friend, — No  cross,  no  crown  : 
the  heavier  the  cross,  the  brighter  the  crown.  I  wish 
you  joy,  while  I  mourn,  about  the  afflictions  which  work 
out  for  you  an  exceedingly  greater  weight  of  glory  ; 
(greater,  he  means,  than  he  could  otherwise  have  en 
joyed.) 

'  O  for  a  firm  and  lasting  faith. 
To  credit  all  th'  Almighty  saithj' 

Faith,  I  mean  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen,  is  a 
powerful  cordial  to  support  and  exhilarate  us  under  the 
heaviest  pressures  of  pain  and  temptation.  By  faith  we 
see  things  visible  as  temporal,  fading  ;  as  a  showy  cloud 
that  passes  away.  By  faith  we  live  upon  the  invisible, 
eternal  God  :  we  believe  that  in  him  we  live,  move,  and 
have  our  being  :  we  begin  to  feel  after,  find,  and  enjoy 
our  Root  ;  and  insensibly  we  slide  from  self  into  God, 
from  the  visible  into  the  invisible,  from  the  carnal  into 
the  spiritual,  from  time  into  eternity.  Here  all  husks 
of  flesh  and  blood  break.  Here  our  spirits  are  ever 
young,  they  live  in  and  upon  the  very  fountain  of 


134 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


strength,  sprightliness,  and  joy.  I  grant  that  the  un- 
happy medium  of  corruptible  flesh  and  blood  stands 
much  in  our  way  :  but  if  it  hinder  us  from  enjoying 
God,  it  makes  way  for  our  giving  more  glory  to  him, 
by  believing  his  naked  truth.  O  my  friend,  let  us  rest 
more  upon  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  and  it  will  make 
us  more  abundantly  free,  till  we  are  free  indeed  ;  free 
to  suffer  as  well  as  to  triumph  with  him.  Of  late  I  have 
been  brought  to  feed  more  upon  Jesus  as  the  truth.  I 
see  more  in  him  in  that  character  than  I  ever  did.  I 
am  persuaded  that,  if  you  study  him,  you  will  see  new 
beauties  in  him  in  that  point  of  view.  Perpetual  com- 
forts are  hardly  consistent  with  a  state  of  trial.  (I  ex- 
cept the  comforts  that  are  inseparable  from  a  calm 
acquiescing  in  the  truth  and  the  enjoyment  of  a  good 
conscience.)  Our  bodies  cannot  long  bear  raptures  : 
but  the  silent  beams  of  truth  can  always  insinuate  them- 
selves into  the  believing  soul,  to  stay  it  upon  the  couch 
of  pain,  and  in  the  arms  of  death.  I  see  Christ  the 
truth  of  my  life,  friends,  relations,  sense,  food,  raiment, 
light,  fire,  resting  place,  &c.  All  out  of  him  are  but 
shadows.  All  in  him  are  blessed  sacraments,  I  mean 
visible  signs  of  the  fountain,  or  little  vehicles  to  convey 
the  streams  of  inward  grace.  As  for  pain,  &c,  it  is 
only  the  struggle  of  fallen  nature,  in  order  to  a  full  birth 
into  the  world  of  unmixed  bliss.  Let  us  bear  it  cheer- 
fully, as  Sarah  did,  when  she  was  delivered  of  Isaac. 
I  am  glad  the  Lord  supports  you  under  your  troubles. 
Arise,  be  of  good  cheer,  thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee. 
Enjoy  one  blessing  as  much  as  nature  would  repine  under 
ten  crosses.  The  Lord  direct  us  by  his  light,  and  fill 
us  with  his  love.  The  God  of  peace  be  with  you,  and 
raise  you  up  to  stand  by  his  truth  and  people,  and  be- 
come more  ripe  for  glory  !  Adieu  !  I  am  yours  in 
Him  who  is  all  in  all.  J.  F." 

34.  CJod,  however,  did  not  see  fit  to  grant  this  request 
of  his  servant.  Mr.  C.  Perronet's  health  declined  more 
and  more,  and  in  less  than  four  years  after  the  affliction 
terminated  in  his  death.  The  following  short  extract 
of  a  letter,  addressed  by  Mr.  Fletcher  to  his  reverend 
and  pious  father  on  this  occasion,  will  at  once  edify  and 
please  the  reader  : — 

"  Honoured  and  Rev.  Sir, — To  inform  you  of  what 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


156 


you  cannot  but  be  acquainted  with  is  superfluous,  but  to 
congratulate  you  upon  what  I  know  you  exult  in,  is  the 
duty  both  of  religion  and  friendship.  Methinks,  then,  1 
see  you,  right  honoured  sir,  mounted  as  another  Moses 
on  the  top  of  Pisgah,  and  through  the  telescope  of  faith 
descrying  the  promised  land  ;  or  rather,  in  the  present 
instance,  I  observe  you  standing,  like  another  Joshua,  on 
the  banks  of  Jordan,  viewing  all  Israel,  with  your  son 
among  them,  passing  over  the  river  to  their  great  pos- 
sessions. Permit  ine,  therefore,  in  consideration  of  your 
years  and  office,  to  exclaim,  in  the  language  of  young 
Elisha  to  his  ancient  seer,  '  My  father  !  My  father  !  The 
chariots  of  Israel,  and  the  horsemen  thereof.' 

'  There,  there  they  are,  and  there  is  he,  your  son ! 
Whom  faith  pursues,  and  eager  hope  discerns, 
In  yon  bright  chariot  as  a  cherub  borne 
On  wings  of  love,  to  uncreated  realms 
Of  deathless  joy,  and  everlasting  peace.'" 

35.  The  preceding  letters,  and  others  written  about 
the  same  time,  with  the  testimony  of  divers  of  his  friends 
who  were  in  the  habit  of  seeing  and  conversing  with 
him  frequently,  make  it  evident  that  Mr.  Fletcher's  spi- 
rit suffered  no  declension  as  to  genuine  piety,  meekness, 
or  benevolence,  during  this  controversy. 

September  21,  1773,  he  says  to  Mr.  Ireland : — "I 
see  life  so  short,  and  that  time  passes  away  with  such 
rapidity,  that  I  should  be  very  glad  to  spend  it  in  solemn 
prayer;  but  it  is  necessary  that  a  man  should  have  some 
exterior  occupation.  The  chief  thing  is  to  employ  our- 
selves profitably.  My  throat  is  not  formed  for  the 
labours  of  preaching  :  when  I  have  preached  three  or 
four  times  together,  it  inflames  and  fills  up;  and  the 
efforts  which  I  am  then  obliged  to  make  in  speaking 
heat  my  blood.  Thus  I  am,  by  nature  as  well  as  by  the 
circumstances  I  am  in,  obliged  to  employ  my  time  in 
writing  a  little.  O  that  I  may  be  enabled  to  do  it  to  the 
glory  of  God  !  Let  us  love  this  good  God,  who  hath  so 
loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that 
we  might  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.  How 
sweet  is  it,  on  our  knees,  to  receive  this  Jesus,  this  hea- 
venly gift,  and  to  offer  our  praises  and  thanks  to  our 
heavenly  Father !  The  Lord  teach  me  four  lessons : 
the  first  is,  to  be  thankful  that  I  am  not  in  hell ;  the 


156 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


second,  to  become  nothing  before  him  ;  the  third,  to 
receive  the  gift  of  God — the  person  of  Jesus ;  and  the 
fourth,  to  feel  my  want  of  the  spirit  of  Jesus,  and  to 
wait  for  it.  These  four  lessons  are  very  deep.  O  when 
shall  I  have  learned  them  !  Let  us  go  together  to  the 
school  of  Jesus,  and  learn  to  be  meek  and  lowly  in  heart. 
Adieu,  J.  F." 

About  six  months  afterward  his  words  to  the  same 
person  are: — "I  have  just  spirit  enough  to  enjoy  my 
solitude,  and  to  bless  God  that  I  am  out  of  the  hurry  of 
the  world,  even  the  spiritual  world.  I  tarry  gladly  in 
my  Jerusalem  till  the  kingdom  of  God  come  with  power. 
Till  then  it  matters  not  where  I  am  :  only  as  my  chief 
call  is  here,  here  I  gladly  stay,  till  God  fit  me  for  the 
pulpit  or  the  grave.  I  still  spend  my  mornings  in  scrib- 
bling. Though  I  grudge  so  much  time  in  writing,  yet  a 
man  must  do  something  ;  and  I  may  as  well  investigate 
truth  as  do  any  thing  else,  except  solemn  praying  and 
visiting  my  flock.  I  shall  be  glad  to  have  done  with  my 
present  avocation  that  I  may  give  myself  up  more  to 
those  two  things." 

36.  He  was  now  engaged  in  writing  his  "Equal 
Check  to  Pharisaism  and  Antinomianism,"  which  he 
intended  to  be,  and  which  certainly  is,  "  as  much  in  be- 
half of  free  grace  as  of  holhiess."  "  It  will  be  of  a 
reconciling  nature,"  says  he,  "  and  on  a  plan  on  which 
all  the  candid  and  moderate  will  be  able  to  shake 
hands."  This  Check  was  written  in  the  latter  end  of 
the  year  1773,  and  the  beginning  of  1774,  and  published 
soon  after  ;  at  which  time  the  common  and  equal  friend 
of  Mr.  Fletcher  and  Lady  H   had  proposed  an  in- 
terview between  them.  On  this  occasion  Mr.  Fletcher 
writes  as  follows : — 

"  In  the  present  circumstances  it  was  a  great  piece  of 
condescension  in  dear  Lady  Huntingdon  to  be  willing 
to  see  me  privately ;  but  for  her  to  permit  me  to  wait 
upon  her  openly,  denotes  such  generosity,  such  courage, 
and  a  mind  so  much  superior  to  the  narrowness  that 
clogs  the  charity  of  most  professors,  that  it  would  have 
amazed  me  if  every  thing  that  is  noble  and  magnanimous 
were  not  to  be  expected  from  her  ladyship.  It  is  well 
for  her  that  spirits  are  imprisoned  in  flesh  and  blood,  or 
I  might  by  this  time  (and  it  is  but  an  hour  since  I 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


137 


received  your  letter)  have  troubled  her  ten  limes  with  my 
apparition,  to  wish  her  joy  of  being  above  the  danger- 
ous snare  of  professors — the  smiles  and  frowns  of  the 
religious  world  ;  and  to  thank  her  a  thousand  times  for 
not  being  ashamed  of  her  old  servant,  and  for  cordially 
forgiving  him  all  that  is  past,  upon  the  score  of  the 
Lord's  love,  and  of  my  honest  meaning." 

A  few  weeks  after  he  observes  farther  : — "  How  kind 
is  my  lady  to  offer  to  interpose,  and  to  wipe  off  the  as- 
persions of  my  London  accusers.  I  had  before  sent  my 
reply,  which  was  only  a  plain  narrative  of  two  facts, 
upon  which  it  appeared  to  me  the  capital  charges  were 
founded,  together  with  some  gentle  expostulations, 
which  I  hope  have  had  the  desired  effect.  Give  my 
dutv  to  my  lady,  and  thank  her  a  thousand  times  for 
this  new  addition  to  all  her  former  favours,  till  I  have 
an  opportunity  of  doing  it  in  person. 

"  I  get  very  slowly  out  of  the  mire  of  my  controversy, 
and  yet  I  hope  to  get  over  it,  if  God  spare  my  life,  in 
two  or  three  pieces  more.  Since  I  wrote  last,  I  have 
added  to  my  Equal  Check  a  piece  which  I  call  'An 
Essay  on  Truth,  or  a  Rational  Vindication  of  the  Doc- 
trine of  Salvation  by  Faith,'  which  I  have  taken  the 
liberty  to  dedicate  to  Lady  Huntingdon,  to  have  an  op- 
portunity of  clearing  her  ladyship  from  the  charge  of 
Antinomianism.  I  have  taken  this  step  in  the  simpli- 
city of  my  heart,  and  as  due  from  me,  in  my  circum- 
stances, to  the  character  of  her  ladyship.  Mr.  H — t — n 
called  sometime  after  the  letter  was  printed,  and  said, 
4  It  will  not  be  well  taken.'  I  hope  better  ;  but  be  it  as 
it  may,  1  shall  have  the  satisfaction  of  having  meant 
well." 

37.  As  Mr.  Fletcher's  own  views  of  this  controversy, 
when  it  appeared  to  be  drawing  to  a  close,  and  the  state 
of  his  mind  at  that  period,  are  certainly  very  important 
particulars  of  his  life,  and  distinguishing  traits  of  his 
*  character;  and  as  they  will  be  best  learned  from  the 
private  and  confidential  letters  which  were  written  at 
the  time  to  his  intimate  friends,  the  reader  will  not  be 
sorry  to  see  them  still  farther  delineated  in  extracts 
from  two  or  three  more  of  his  epistles.  Those  address- 
ed to  me  I  the  rather  insert,  as  no  part  of  them  has  been 
published  before,  and  I  think  they  all  contain  observa- 


158 


LIKE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


tions  well  worthy  of  being  known  and  preserved,  and 
which  would  probably  otherwise  perish  in  oblivion. 
March  20,  1774,  he  wrote  to  rne  as  follows  : — 

"  My  Dear  Brother, — I  am  two  kind  letters  in  your 
debt ;  for  both  which  accept  the  best  thanks  that  grate- 
ful brotherly  love  can  muster  up  in  my  breast.  Your 
first  letter  I  did  not  answer  through  a  variety  of  avoca- 
tions :  the  second  I  answer  by  our  Elijah,  (Mr.  Wesley.) 
I  do  not  repent  having  engaged  in  the  present  contro- 
versy, for  though  I  think  my  little  publications  cannot 
reclaim  those  who  are  given  up  to  believe  the  lie  of  the 
day,  yet  they  may  here  and  there  stop  one  from  swal- 
lowing it  at  all,  or  from  swallowing  it  so  deeply  as  other- 
wise he  might  have  done.  In  preaching  I  do  not 
meddle  with  the  points  discussed,  unless  my  text  lead 
me  to  it,  and  then  I  think  them  important  enough  not  to 
be  ashamed  of  them  before  my  people. 

"  I  am  just  finishing  an  Essay  on  Truth,  which  I  de- 
dicate to  Lady  H  ,  wherein  you  will  see  my  latest 

views  of  that  important  subject.  My  apprehensions  of 
things  have  not  changed  since  I  saw  you  last ;  save  that 
in  one  thing  I  have  seen  my  error.  An  over  eager 
attention  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Spirit  has  made  me,  in 
some  degree,  overlook  the  medium  by  which  the  Spirit 
works,  I  mean  the  word  of  truth,  which  is  the  wood  by 
which  the  heavenly  fire  warms  us.  I  rather  expected 
lightning  than  a  steady  fire  by  means  of  fuel.  I  men- 
tion my  error  to  you  lest  you  too  should  be  involved 
therein.  May  the  Lord  help  us  to  steer  clear  of  every 
rock.  My  controversy  weighs  upon  my  hands :  but  I 
must  go  through  with  it,  which  I  hope  will  be  done  in 
two  or  three  pieces  more  :  one  of  which,  «  Scripture 
Scales  to  weigh  the  Gold  of  Gospel  Truth,'  may  be 
more  useful  than  the  Checks,  as  being  more  literally 
scriptural.  I  have  exchanged  a  couple  of  friendly  let- 
ters with  Lady  H  ,  who  gives  me  leave  to  see  her  # 

publicly :  but  I  think  it  best  to  postpone  that  honour 
till  I  have  cleared  my  mind.  Should  you  see  my  Essay 
on  Truth,  I  pray  God  it  may  help  you  to  discern  the 
depth  of  Rom.  x,  10.  By  overlooking  the  rounds  of 
the  mysterious  ladder  of  truth  that  are  within  our  reach, 
and  fixing  our  eyes  on  those  that  are  above  us,  we  are 
often  at  a  stand,  and  give  ourselves  and  others  needless 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


159 


trouble.  I  shall  be  glad  to  see  the  productions  of  your 
pen.  I  hope  they  will  add  to  my  little  stock  of  truth 
and  love.  Let  us  believe  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Let 
us  love  one  another,  serve  our  generation,  and  hopefully 
wait  for  the  glorious  revelation  of  the  Son  of  God.  That 
your  soul  may  live  the  most  abundant  life,  is  the  prayer 
of  your  loving  brother,  J.  F." 

38.  The  Essay  on  Truth,  referred  to  by  Mr.  Fletcher 
in  so  many  of  the  letters  which  he  wrote  about  this  time, 
was  viewed  by  him  as  peculiarly  important,  and  as  con- 
taining doctrines  particularly  suited  to  the  slate  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  at  that  time.  "  I  am  glad,"  says  he 
to  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  in  ihe  beginning  of  the  next 
year,  "you  did  not  altogether  disapprove  my  Essay  on 
'Truth.  The  letter,  I  grant,  profiteth  little,  until  the 
Spirit  animate  it.  I  had,  some  weeks  ago,  one  of  those 
touches  which  realize,  or  rather  spiritualize  the  letter; 
and  it  convinced  me  more  than  ever  that  what  I  say  in 
that  tract  of  the  spirit,  and  of  faith,  is  truth.  I  am  also 
persuaded  that  the  faith  and  spirit  which  belong  to 
perfect  Christianity  are  at  a  very  low  ebb,  even  among 
believers.  When  the  Son  of  man  cometh  to  set  up  his 
kingdom,  shall  he  find  Christian  faith  upon  the  earth? 
Yes,  but  I  fear  as  little  as  he  found  of  Jewish  faith  when 
he  came  in  the  flesh.  I  believe  you  cannot  rest  with  the 
easy  Antinomian,  or  the  busy  Pharisee.  You  and  I 
have  nothing  to  do  but  to  die  to  all  that  is  of  a  sinful 
nature,  and  to  pray  for  the  power  of  an  endless  life. 
God  make  us  faithful  to  our  convictions,  and  keep  us 
from  the  snares  of  outward  things ! 

"  I  feel  the  force  of  what  you  say  in  your  last,  about 
the  danger  of  so  encouraging  the  inferior  dispensations 
as  to  make  people  rest  short  of  the  faith  which  belongs 
lo  perfect  Christianity.  I  have  tried  to  obviate  it  in 
some  parts  of  the  Equal  Check,  and  hope  to  do  it  more 
effectually  in  my  reply  to  Mr.  Hill's  Creed  for  Perfec- 
tionists. I  expect  a  letter  from  you  on  the  subject: 
write  with  openness,  and  do  not  fear  to  discourage  mc 
by  speaking  your  disapprobation  of  what  you  dislike. 
My  aim  is  to  be  found  at  the  feet  of  all,  bearing  and 
forbearing,  until  truth  and  love  bring  better  days." 

39.  About  this  lime,  having  used  in  some  small  degree 
the  liberty  which  his  humility  induced  him  to  give  me, 


160 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


and  having  sent  him  two  or  three  trivial  remarks  on 
some  expressions  which  occurred  in  the  above  men- 
tioned essay,  I  received  from  him  the  following  letter, 
which  I  think  important  enough  to  be  inserted  here,  and 
with  which  I  shall  close  this  chapter: — 

"  My  Dear  Brother, — I  have  had  two  printers  upon 
my  heels  beside  my  common  business,  and  this  is  enough 
to  make  me  tresspass  upon  the  patience  of  my  friends. 
I  have  published  the  first  part  of  my  Scales,  which  has 
gone  through  a  second  edition  in  London  before  I  could 
get  the  second  part  printed  in  Salop,  where  it  will  be 
published  in  about  six  weeks.  I  have  also  published  a 
Creed  for  the  Arminians,  where  you  will  see  that  if  I 
have  not  answered  your  critical  remarks  upon  my  Essay 
on  Truth,  I  have  improved  by  them,  yea,  publicly  re- 
canted the  two  expressions  you  mentioned  as  improper. 
For  any  such  remarks  I  shall  always  be  peculiarly 
thankful  to  you,  and  hope  you  will  always  find  me  open 
to  conviction.  With  respect  to  the  sermons  you  have 
thoughts  of  publishing,  I  say,  follow  your  own  con- 
science and  the  advice  of  the  judicious  friends  about 
you :  and  put  me  among  your  subscribers,  as  I  believe 
they  will  be  worth  a  careful  perusal,  as  well  as  to  matter, 
as  method  and  style.  I  am  so  tied  up  here,  both  by  my 
parish  duty  and  controversial  writings  that  I  cannot 
-hope  to  see  you  unless  you  come  into  these  parts.  In  the 
meantime  let  us  meet  at  the  throne  of  grace.  In  Jesus 
time  and  distance  are  lost.  He  is  a  universal,  eternal 
life  of  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy.  I  am  glad  you 
have  some  encouragement  in  Scotland.  The  Lord  grant 
you  more  and  more.  Use  yourself,  however,  to  go 
against  wind  and  tide,  as  I  do,  and  take  care  that  our 
wise  dogmatical  friends  in  the  north  do  not  rob  you  of 
your  childlike  simplicity.  Remember  that  the  mystc 
ries  of  the  kingdom  are  revealed  to  babes.  You  may  be 
afraid  of  being  a  fool  without  being  afraid  of  being  a 
babe.  You  may  be  childlike  without  being  childish. 
Simplicity  of  intention  and  purity  of  affection  will  go 
through  the  world,  through  hell  itself.  In  the  mean- 
time let  us  see  that  we  do  not  so  look  at  our  little  pub- 
lications, or  to  other  people,  as  to  forget  that  Christ  is 
our  object,  our  sun,  our  shield.  To  his  inspiration, 
comfort,  and  protection,  I  earnestly  recommend  your 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER.  161 

soul ;  and  the  labours  of  your  heart,  tongue,  and  pen, 
to  his  blessing;  entreating  you  to  beg,  at  the  throne  of 
grace,  all  the  wisdom  and  grace  needful  for  your  steady, 
affectionate  friend  and  brother,  J.  F." 


CHAPTER  VI. 
Of  his  declining  state  of  health,  the  progress  of  his  disorder, 
and  his  behaviour  under  it,  with  an  account  of  his  other  polemi- 
cal writing's,  and  the  conclusion  of  the  controvers)'. 

1.  The  frequent  journeys  which  Mr.  Fletcher  took  to 
and  from  Trcvecka  while  he  presided  over  the  college, 
in  all  weathers,  and  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  greatly 
impaired  the  firmness  of  his  constitution.  And  in  some 
of  those  journeys  he  had  not  only  difficulties  but  dan- 
gers likewise  to  encounter.  One  day  as  he  was  riding 
over  a  wooden  bridge,  just  as  he  got  to  the  middle 
thereof,  it  broke  in.  The  mare's  fore  legs  sunk  into 
the  river,  but  her  breast  and  hinder  parts  were  kept  up 
by  the  bridge.  In  that  position  she  lay  as  still  as  if  she 
had  been  dead,  till  he  got  over  her  neck  and  took  off 
his  bags,  in  which  were  several  manuscripts,  the  spoil- 
ing of  which  would  have  occasioned  him  much  trouble. 
He  then  endeavoured  to  raise  her  up ;  but  she  would 
not  stir  till  he  went  over  the  other  part  of  the  bridge. 
But  no  sooner  did  he  set  his  foot  upon  the  ground  than 
she  began  to  plunge.  Immediately  the  remaining  part 
of  the  bridge  broke  down,  and  sunk  with  her  into  the 
river.  But  presently  she  rose  up  again,  swam  out,  and 
came  to  him. 

2.  About  this  time,  Mr.  Pilmoor  being  desirous  to  see 
the  inside  of  a  coalpit,  Mr.  Fletcher  went  with  him  to 
the  bottom  of  a  sloping  pit,  which  was  supposed  to  be 
near  a  mile  under  the  ground.  They  returned  out  of  it 
without  any  inconvenience.  But  the  next  day,  while 
several  colliers  were  there,  a  damp  took  fire,  which 
went  off  with  a  vast  explosion,  and  killed  all  the  men 
that  were  in  it. 

3.  In  February,  1773,  Mr.  Wesley  received  from  him 
the  following  letter  : — 


102 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


"Rev.  and  Dear  Sir, — I  hope  the  Lore],  who  has  so 
wonderfully  stood  by  you  hitherto,  will  preserve  you  to 
see  many  of  your  sheep,  and  ine  among  them,  enter 
into  rest.  Should  Providence  call  you  lirst,  I  shall  do 
my  best,  by  the  Lord's  assistance,  to  help  your  brother 
to  gather  the  wreck,  and  keep  together  those  who  are 
not  absolutely  bent  to  throw  away  the  Methodist  doc- 
trines and  discipline  as  soon  as  he  that  now  lctteth  is 
removed  out  of  the  way.  Every  help  will  then  be  ne- 
cessary, and  I  shall  not  be  backward  to  throw  in  my 
fnite.  In  the  meantime  you  sometimes  need  an  assist- 
ant to  serve  tables,  and  occasionally  fill  up  a  gap.  Pro- 
vidence visibly  appointed  me  to  that  office  many  years 
ago.  And  though  it  no  less  evidently  called  me  hither, 
yet  I  have  not  been  without  doubts,  especially  for  some 
years  past,  whether  it  would  not  be  expedient  that  I 
should  resume  my  office  as  your  deacon;  not  with  any 
view  of  presiding  over  the  Methodists  after  you,  but  to 
ease  you  a  little  in  your  old  age,  and  to  be  in  the  way 
of  receiving,  perhaps  doing  more  good.  I  have  some- 
times thought  how  shameful  it  was  that  no  clergyman 
should  join  you,  to  keep  in  the  Church  the  work  God 
has  enabled  you  to  carry  on  therein.  And  as  the  little 
estate  I  have  in  my  own  country  is  sufficient  for  my 
maintenance,  I  have  thought  I  would,  one  day  or  other, 
offer  you  and  the  Methodists  my  free,  service.  While 
my  love  of  retirement  made  me  linger,  I  was  providen- 
tially led  to  do  something  on  Lady  Huntingdon's  plan. 
But  being  shut  out  there,  it  appears  to  me  I  am  again 
called  to  my  first  work.  Nevertheless  I  would  not  leave 
this  place  without  a  fuller  persuasion  that  the  time  is 
quite  come.  Not  that  God  uses  me  much  here ;  but  I 
have  not  yet  sufficiently  cleared  my  conscience  from  the 
blood  of  all  men.  Meantime  I  beg  the  Lord  to  guide 
me  by  his  counsel,  and  make  me  willing  to  go  anywhere 
or  nowhere,  to  be  any  thing  or  nothing.  Help  by  your 
prayers,  till  you  can  bless  by  word  of  mouth,  reverend 
and  dear  sir,  your  willing  though  unprofitable  servant 
in  the  Gospel,  J.  F. 

"Madeley,  Feb.  6,  1773." 

4.  On  this  letter  Mr.  Wesley  remarks  as  follows: — 
"'Providence,'  says  Mr.  Fletcher,  'visibly  appointed 
me  to  that  office  many  years  ago.'    Is  it  any  wonder, 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


163 


then,  that  he  should  now  be  in  doubt,  whether  he  did 
right  in  confining  himself  to  one  spot?  The  more  I 
reflect  upon  it,  the  more  I  am  convinced  he  had  great 
reason  to  doubt  of  this.  I  can  never  believe  it  was  the 
will  of  God  that  such  a  burning  and  shining  light  should 
be  hid  tinder  a  bushel.  No,  instead  of  being  confined 
to  a  country  village,  it  ought  to  have  shone  in  every 
corner  of  our  land.  He  was  full  as  much  called  to 
sound  an  alarm  through  all  the  nation,  as  Mr.  Whitefield 
himself :  nay.  abundantly  more  -so,  seeing  he  was  far 
better  qualified  for  that  important  work.  He  had  a  more 
striking  person,  equal  good  breeding,  an  equally  winning 
address  ;  together  with  a  richer  flow  of  fancy,  a  stronger 
understanding,  a  far  greater  treasure  of  learning,  both 
in  languages,  philosophy,  philology,  and  divinity  ;  and 
above  all,  (which  I  can  speak  with  fuller  assurance,  be- 
cause I  had  a  thorough  knowledge  both  of  one  and  the 
other.)  a  more  deep  and  constant  communion  with  the 
Father,  and  with  the  Son,  Jesus  Christ. 

"And  yet  let  not  any  one  imagine  that  I  depreciate 
Mr.  Whitefield,  or  undervalue  the  grace  of  God,  and  the 
extraordinary  gifts  which  his  great  Master  vouchsafed 
unto  him.  I  believe  he  was  highly  favoured  of  God  ; 
yea,  that  he  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  ministers  that 
has  appeared  in  England,  or  perhaps  in  the  world,  dur- 
ing the  present  century.  Yet  I  must  own,  I  have  known 
many  fully  equal  to  Mr.  Whitefield,  both  in  holy  tempers 
and  holiness  of  conversation:  but  one  equal  herein  to 
Mr.  Fletcher  I  have  not  known,  no,  not  in  a  life  of  four- 
score years. 

5.  "  However,  having  chosen,"  proceeds  Mr.  Wesley, 
"at  least  for  the  present,  this  narrow  field  of  action,  he 
was  more  and  more  abundant  in  his  ministerial  labours, 
both  in  public  and  in  private :  not  contenting  himself  with 
preaching,  but  visiting  his  flock  in  every  corner  of  his 
parish.  And  this  work  he  attended  to,  early  or  late, 
whether  the  weather  was  fair  or  foul ;  regarding  neither 
heat  nor  cold,  rain  nor  snow,  whether  he  was  on  horse- 
back or  on  foot.  But  this  farther  weakened  his  consti- 
tution ;  which  was  still  more  effectually  impaired  by  his 
intense  and  uninterrupted  studies  ;  in  which  he  fre- 
quently continued,  almost  without  any  intermission, 
fourteen,  fifteen,  or  sixteen  hours  a  day.    But  still  he 


164 


MFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


did  not  allow  himself  such  food  as  was  necessary  to 
sustain  nature.  He  seldom  took  any  regular  meals,  ex- 
cept he  had  company:  otherwise  twice  or  thrice  in 
four  and  twenty  hours,  he  ate  some  hread  and  cheese,  or 
fruit.  Instead  of  this  he  sometimes  took  a  draught  of 
milk,  and  then  wrote  on  again." 

6.  The  works  which  Mr.  Fletcher  had  in  hand,  chiefly, 
at  this  time,  wore  three  ;  1.  Zelotes  and  Honestus  recon- 
ciled :  or,  an  Equal  Check  to  Pharisaism  and  Antinomi- 
anism  continued,"  including  the  first  and  second  part  of 
the  Scripture  Scales;  2.  "The  Fictitious  and  Genuine 
Creed  ;  and  3.  His  treatise  on  Christian  Perfection, 
termed  hy  him,  "  A  Polemical  Essay  on  the  Twin  Doc- 
trines of  Christian  Imperfection  and  a  Death  Purga- 
tory." All  these  were  published  in  the  year  1775,  and 
the  two  former,  it  seems,  written  in  the  year  preceding. 
He  had  promised  also  to  his  readers  an  answer  to  Mr. 
Toplady's  pamphlet,  entitled  "  More  work  for  Mr.  Wes- 
ley." But  this  he  postponed  for  the  present,  because 
he  judged  the  pieces  just  mentioned  to  be  of  greater 
importance,  and  therefore  as  deserving  and  requiring 
his  earliest  attention.  "  He  saw  life,"  as  he  observes  in 
an  advertisement  prefixed  to  the  first  edition  of  his  Scrip- 
ture Scales,  "  to  be  so  uncertain,  that  of  two  things, 
which  he  was  obliged  to  do,  he  thought  it  his  duty  to 
set  about  that  which  appeared  to  him  the  more  useful. 
He  considered  also  that  it  was  proper  to  have  quite  done 
with  Mr.  Hill  before  he  faced  Mr.  Toplady.  And  he 
hoped  that  to  lay  before  the  judicious  a  complete  sys- 
tem of  truth,  which,  like  the  sun,  recommends  itself 
by  its  own  lustre,  was  perhaps  the  best  method  to  prove 
that  error  which  shines  only  as  a  meteor,  is  nothing  but 
a  mock  sun.  However,  he  fully  designed,  he  says,  to 
perform  his  engagement  in  a  short  time,  if  his  life  were 
spared." 

7.  This  was  his  language,  Nov.  12,  1774  ;  and  on  July 
the  12th  following,  in  a  letter  to  me  from  Madeley,  he 
says  : — "  I  have  just  finished  my  treatise  on  Perfection. 
It  will  be  a  large  book  :  but  I  thought  I  must  treat  the 
subject  fully,  or  not  meddle  with  it."  This  he  had  no 
sooner  completed  than  he  began  other  equally  important 
works.  In  the  second  part  of  his  Scripture  Scales,  he 
had  advertised  a  tract  in  the  following  words:  "The 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


105 


Doctrines  of  Grace  reconciled  to  the  Doctrines  of  Jus- 
tice, being  an  Essay  on  Election  and  Reprobation,  in 
which  the  defects  of  Pelagianism,  Calvinism,  and  Armi- 
nianism,  are  impartially  pointed  out,  and  primitive,  scrip- 
tural harmony  is  more  fully  restored  to  the  Gospel  of 
the  day."  It  is  probable  that  he  had  this  chiefly  in  his 
view,  together  with  the  forcmentioned  answer  to  Mr. 
Toplady,  when  in  the  latter  end  of  the  same  year  he 
says  to  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  "  I  see  the  end  of  my  con- 
troversial race,  and  1  have  such  courage  to  run  it  out, 
that  I  think  it  my  bounden  duty  to  run  and  strike  my 
blow,  and  fire  my  gun,  before  the  water  of  discourage- 
ment has  quite  wetted  the  gunpowder  of  my  activity." 
This  allusion  to  the  work  of  a  soldier  dropped  from  his 
pen  in  the  beginning  of  the  American  war,  (which  seems 
to  have  suggested  the  idea,)  when  the  dispute  between 
Great  Britain  and  her  colonies  became  so  hot,  and  threat- 
ened such  dreadful  calamities  to  both  countries  that  the 
attention  even  of  religious  people  was  generally  turned 
from  every  other  controversy  to  that  alone.  Mr.  Fletcher 
therefore  deferred  the  publication,  and,  I  believe,  the 
finishing  of  the  tracts  just  mentioned,  for  the  present; 
and  from  a  sense  of  duty  to  his  king  and  country,  as 
well  as  to  the  Church  of  God  both  here  and  in  America, 
began  to  employ  his  pen,  lor  a  few  weeks,  on  political 
subjects  ;  writing  first  "  A  Vindication  of  Mr.  Wesley's 
Calm  Address  to  our  American  Colonies,  in  three  let- 
ters to  Mr.  Caleb  Evans,"  and  then  a  second  tract  on 
the  same  subject,  termed  "  American  Patriotism  farther 
confronte.l  with  Reason,  Scripture,  and  the  Constitu- 
tion ;  being  observations  on  the  dangerous  Politics 
taught  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Evans  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Price." 

8.  Mr.  Fletcher's  motives  for  engaging  in  this  dispute 
were  perfectly  pure.  He  considered  "  the  American 
Controversy,"  as  he  states  in  his  preface  to  the  former 
of  these  pieces,  "  to  be  closely  connected  with  Chris- 
tianity in  general,  and  with  Protestantism  in  particular  ; 
and  that  of  consequence,  it  was  of  a  religious,  as  well 
as  of  a  civil  nature."  In  other  words,  he  considered 
Christianity  as  enjoining  "the  practice  of  strict  moral- 
ity, and  that  it  is  an  important  branch  of  such  morality 
to  honour  and  obey  the  king,  and  all  that  are  put  in 
authority  under  hirn  ;  to  order  ourselves  lowly  and 


10!) 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


reverently  to  all  our  betters,  to  hurt  no  one  by  word  or 
deed,  to  be  true  and  just  in  all  our  dealings,  giving  every 
one  his  due,  tribute  to  whom  tribute,  and  custom  to 
whom  custom.  He  thought,  therefore,  if  divinity  could 
cast  any  light  upon  the  question  which  divided  Great 
Britain  and  her  colonies,  that  it  was  not  impertinent  in 
divines  to  hold  out  the  light  of  their  science,  and  peace- 
ably to  use  what  the  apostle  calls  the  '  sword  of  the 
Spirit :'  that  the  material  sword,  unjustly  drawn  by 
those  who  were  in  the  wrong,  might  be  sheathed  ;  and 
that  a  speedy  end  might  be  put  to  the  effusion  of  Chris- 
tian blood."  He  also  judged  that  "many  of  the  colo- 
nists were  as  pious  as  they  were  brave,  and  hoped  that 
while  their  undaunted  fortitude  made  them  scorn  to  bow 
under  a  hostile  arm,  which  shot  the  deadly  lightning 
of  war,  their  humble  piety  might  dispose  them,  or  at 
least  some  of  them,  to  regard  a  friendly  hand  which 
held  out  an  olive  branch,  a  Bible,  and  the  articles  of 
religion,  drawn  by  their  favourite  reformer,  Calvin." 
His  publications  on  this  subject,  as  well  as  Mr.  Wesley's 
"Calm  Address,"  certainly  were  of  great  use,  not  indeed 
to  prevent  the  continuation  and  farther  progress  of  the 
war,  and  stop  the  effusion  of  blood  abroad  ;  but  to  allay 
the  spirit  of  disloyalty  and  insurrection  which  were 
beginning  to  show  themselves  at  home  :  or,  in  his  lan- 
guage, to  remove  the  mistakes,  which,  after  having 
armed  the  provincials  against  Great  Britain,  had  begun 
to  work  in  the  breasts  of  many  good  men  in  this  coun- 
try, and  which,  if  not  removed,  might  have  produced 
effects  such  as  the  survivors  of  them  might  long  have 
had  reason  to  deplore. 

9.  Both  these  tracts  were  published  in  the  year  1776, 
in  the  beginning  of  which,  or  in  the  latter  end  of  1775, 
(for  the  letter  is  without  date,)  he  writes  in  his  usual 
strain  of  self-abasement.  "If  you  have  seen  my  last 
Check,  (the  polemical  essay  above  mentioned,)  I  shall 
be  glad  to  have  a  few  of  your  theological  criticisms  upon 
it.  I  have  unaccountably  launched  into  Christian  poli- 
tics ;  a  branch  of  divinity  too  much  neglected  by  some, 
and  too  much  attended  to  by  others.  If  you  have  seen 
my  vindication  of  Mr.  Wesley's  Calm  Address,  and  can 
make  sense  of  that  badly  printed  piece,  I  shall  be  thank- 
ful for  your  very  dispraise."     To  another  friend  he 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


writes,  about  the  same  time,  "My  little  political  piece 
is  published  in  London.  You  thank  me  for  it  before- 
hand,— I  believe  they  are  the  only  thanks  I  shall  have. 
It  is  well  you  sent  them  before  you  read  the  book ;  and 
yet,  whatever  contempt  it  brings  upon  me,  I  still  think 
I  have  written  the  truth.  If  you  did  read  my  publica- 
tions, I  would  beg  you  to  cast  a  look  upon  that,  and 
reprove  what  appears  to  you  amiss  ;  for  if  I  have  been 
wrong  in  writing,  I  hope  I  shall  not  be  so  excessively 
wrong  as  not  to  be  thankful  for  any  reproof  candidly 
levelled  at  what  I  have  written.  I  prepare  myself  to  be 
like  my  Lord,  in  my  little  measure  — I  mean  to  be  de- 
spised and  rejected  of  men — a  man  of  sorrows  and  ac- 
quainted with  griefs — most  reviled  for  what  I  mean  best. 
The  Lord  strengthen  you  in  body  and  soul,  to  do  and 
suffer  his  will.    Adieu.  J.  F." 

10.  That  Mr.  Fletcher  meant  well,  and  that  he  was 
perfectly  disinterested  in  writing  these  political  pieces, 
no  one  will  doubt  that  had  any  acquaintance  with  him. 
Certainly  he  had  no  view  to  any  gain  or  emolument  what- 
ever ;  nor  would  he,  according  to  Mr.  Vaughan,  accept 
any  compensation  when  offered  him.  "After  Mr.  Fletcher 
had  published  two  or  three  small  political  pieces,  in  re- 
ference to  our  contest  with  the  Americans,  I  carried  one 
of  them  (says  he  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Wesley)  to  the  earl 
of  D.  His  lordship  carried  it  to  the  lord  chancellor, 
and  the  lord  chancellor  handed  it  to  the  king.  One  was 
immediately  commissioned  to  ask  Mr.  Fletcher  whether 
any  preferment  in  the  Church  would  be  acceptable  ?  Or 
whether  he  (the  chancellor)  could  do  him  any  service? 
He  answered,  "  I  want  nothing  but  more  grace." 

As  a  farther  proof  of  Mr.  Fletcher's  disinterestedness, 
and  to  show  in  how  great  a  degree  he  was  disengaged 
from 

"  Wealth,  honour,  pleasure,  or  what  else 
This  short-enduring  world  could  give." 

Mr.  V.  adds,  "In  1776,.  he  deposited  with  me  a  bill  of 
one  hundred  and  five  pounds,  being  (as  I  understood) 
the  yearly  produce  of  his  estate  in  Switzerland.  This 
was  his  fund  for  charitable  uses  :  but  it  lasted  only  a  few 
months,  before  he  drew  upon  me  for  the  balance,  which 
was  twenty-four  pounds,  to  complete  the  preaching 
house  in  Madeley  Wood." 


168 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


11.  The  reader  must  observe  here  that  Mr.  Fletcher's 
health  had  been  declining  much  for  some  time,  as  ap- 
pears by  sundry  passages  in  his  letters  to  his  friends. 
Two  years  before  this,  viz.,  in  March  1774,  he  says  to 
Mr.  Ireland: — "O  how  life  goes!  I  walked,  now  I 
gallop  into  eternity.  The  bowl  of  life  goes  rapidly 
down  the  steep  hill  of  time.  Let  us  be  wise  ;  embrace 
we  Jesus  and  the  resurrection.  Let  us  trim  our  lamps, 
and  continue  to  give  ourselves  to  him  that  bought  us, 
till  we  can  do  it  without  reserve.  In  the  middle  of  the 
following  year,  a  little  after  Mr.  Wesley  had  been  dan- 
gerously ill  in  Ireland,  he  observes  to  me  in  a  letter, 
"  God  has  lately  shaken  Mr.  Wesley  over  the  grave  ; 
but  notwithstanding,  I  believe  (from  the  strength  of  his 
constitution  and  the  weakness  of  mine,  which  is  much 
broken  since  I  saw  you)  he  will  survive  me.  So  that  I 
do  not  scheme  about  helping  to  make  up  the  gap  when 
that  great  tree  shall  fall.  Sufficient  for  that  day  will 
that  trouble  be  ;  nor  will  the  Divine  power  be  then  in- 
sufficient to  help  the  people  in  time  of  need."  These 
words  were  spoken  with  a  reference  to  a  letter  of  mine 
to  him,  in  which  I  had  intimated  that  I  thought  his  help 
would  be  wanted,  in  case  of  Mr.  Wesley's  death,  in  the 
government  of  the  societies,  and  in  conducting  the  work 
of  God.  And,  as  the  reader  will  easily  observe,  if  they 
were  not  uttered  in  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  at  least  the 
event  was  as  he  conjectured. 

In  the  latter  end  of  the  same  year,  he  says  to  Mr. 
Charles  Wesley: — "Old  age  comes  faster  upon  me  than 
upon  you.  I  am  already  so  grey-headed,  that  I  wrote 
to  my  brother  to  know  if  I  am  not  fifty-six  instead  of 
forty-six.  The  wheel  of  time  moves  so  rapidly  that  I 
seem  to  be  in  a  new  element ;  and  yet,  praised  be  God, 
my  strength  is  preserved  far  better  than  I  could  expect. 
I  came  home  last  night  at  eleven  o'clock,  tolerably  well, 
after  reading  prayers  and  preaching  twice,  and  giving 
the  sacrament,  in  my  own  church,  and  preaching  again, 
and  meeting  a  few  people  in  society,  at  the  next  market 
town.  The  Lord  is  wonderfully  gracious  to  me  ;  and 
what  is  more  to  me  than  many  favours,  he  helps  me  to 
see  his  mercies  in  a  clearer  light.  In  years  past,  I  did 
not  dare  to  be  thankful  for  mercies  which  now  make  me 
shout  for  joy.    I  had  been  taught  to  call  them  common 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


too 


mercies ;  and  I  mailc  as  little  of  them  as  apostates  do 
of  the  bloo.l  of  Christ  when  they  call  it  a  common  thing. 
But  now  the  veil  begins  to  rend,  and  I  invite  you  and 
all  the  world  to  praise  God  for  his  patience,  truth,  and 
loving  kindness,  which  have  followed  me  all  my  days, 
and  prevented  me,  not  only  in  the  night  watches,  but  in 
the  past  ages  of  eternity.  O  how  I  hate  the  delusion 
which  has  robbed  me  of  so  many  comforts  !  Farewell. 

-  I  am,  fee.,  J.  F." 

12.  He  now  became  sensible  he  had  gone  to  an  ex- 
treme in  such  close  and  continued  thinking  and  writing, 
and  that  for  the  preservation  of  any  degree  of  health,  it 
would  be  necessary  he  should  use  some  relaxation,  and 
take  exercise  in  the  open  air.  He  therefore  observes  to 
Mr.  Ireland,  in  February  next: — "A  young  clergyman 
offers  to  assist  me ;  if  he  do,  I  may  make  an  excursion 
somewhere  this  spring:  where  it  will  be  I  do  not  know. 
It  may  be  into  eternity ;  for  I  dare  not  depend  on  to- 
morrow: but  should  it  be  your  way,  I  shall  inform  you 
of  a  variety  of  family  trials  which  the  Lord  has  sent 
me, — all  for  good,  to  break  my  will  in  every  possible 
respect." 

He  speaks  to  the  same  purpose,  but  more  at  large,  to 
me  in  a  letter  written  about  the  same  time  ;  which  suffi- 
ciently manifests  the  blessed  state  of  his  mind  during 
these  painful  exercises  . — 

"My  Very  Dear  Brother, — I  have  long  wished  to 
hear  from  you.  If  I  remember  right,  when  you  wrote 
me  a  few  lines  from  Leeds,  you  intimated  that  you  would 
let  me  hear  from  you  more  fully.  Either  my  hopes  have 
dreamed  it,  or  your  many  avocations  have  (as  j  et)  pre- 
vented your  indulging  me  with  a  line.  Be  that  as  it  will, 
I  send  this  to  inquire  after  your  welfare  in  every  sense, 
and  to  let  you  know  that  though  I  am  pretty  well  in 
body,  I  break  fast, — and  that  I  want  to  break  faster  in 
spirit  than  I  do  ;  though,  blessed  be  God,  I  have  been 
put  into  such  pinching,  grinding  circumstances  for  near 
a  year,  by  a  series  of  providential  and  domestic  trials  as 
have  given  mc  some  deadly  blows  ;  may  the  wounds  be 
never  healed  !  May  all  the  life  of  self,  which  is  the  vital 
blood  of  the  old  Adam,  flow  out  at  the  cuts!  I  am  not 
without  hopes  of  setting  my  eyes  on  you  once  more. 
Mr.  Wesley  kindly  invited  me  some  weeks  ago  to  travel 


no 


LIFE  OF  REV.  /.  FLETCHER. 


with  him.  and  visit  some  of  the  societies.  The  contro- 
versy is  partly  over,  and  I  feel  an  inclination  to  break 
one  of  my  chains,  (parochial  retirement,)  which  may  be 
a  nest  for  selfc  A  young  minister,  ire  deacon's  orders, 
ha^  offered  to  be  my  curate  ;  and,  if  he  can  live  in  thi« 
wilderness,  I  shall  have  some  liberty  to  leave  it.  I  com- 
mit the  matter  entirely  to  the  Lord.  To  lie  at  the  beck 
of  Providence,  to  do  or  not  to  do,  to  have  or  not  to  have, 
is,  I  think,  in  such  cases,  a  becoming  frame  of  mind." 

In  the  same  letter  he  observes : — "  The  few  professors 
I  see  in  these  parts  are  so  far  from  what  I  could  wish 
them  and  myself  to  be,  that  I  cannot  but  cry  out,  Lord, 
how  long  wilt  thou  give  thine  heritage  to  desolation  or 
barrenness?  How  long  shall  the  heathen  say,  Where  i3 
now  their  indwelling  God  ?  1  hope  it  is  better  with  you 
in  the  north.  I  have  got  acquainted,  by  letter,  with  a 
sensible  man,  who  calls  himself  an  expectant  of  the  king- 
dom of  God,  with  whom  (so  far  as  I  know)  I  perfectly 
agree.  He  is  a  Nathanael  and  a  Simeon  indeed.  You 
would  love  him  if  you  knew  him.  I  look  upon  your 
discoveries  in  the  field  and  mines  of  truth  as  mine.  I 
hope  you  will  not  deprive  me  of  what  I  have  a  right  to 
share  in,  according  to  the  old  rule,  they  had  all  things 
common.  What  are  your  heart,  your  pen,  your  tongue 
doing?  Are  they  receiving,  sealing,  spreading  the  truth 
everywhere  within  your  sphere  ?  Are  you  dead  to  praise 
or  dispraise  ?  Could  you  quietly  pass  for  a  mere  fool, 
and  have  gross  nonsense  fathered  upon  you  without  any 
uneasy  reflection  of  self?  The  Lord  bless  you;  the 
Lord  make  you  a  child  and  a  father.  Beware  of  your 
grand  enemy,  earthly  wisdom  and  unbelieving  reason- 
ings. You  will  never  overcome,  but  by  childlike,  loving 
simplicity.    Adieu.  J.  F."' 

13.  Of  the  invitation  which  he  had  received  to  travel 
with  Mr.  Wesley,  referred  to  in  the  above  letter,  Mr. 
Wesley  speaks  as  follows,  in  his  account  of  Mr.  Fletch- 
er's life : — 

"In  the  same  year,  his  health  being  more  than  ever 
impaired  by  a  violent  cough,  accompanied  with  spitting 
of  blood,  (of  which  I  had  had  large  experience  myself;) 
having  frequently  seen  the  surprising  effects  of  constant 
exercise,  together  with  change  of  air,  I  told  him  nothing 
was  so  likely  to  restore  his  health  as  a  long  journey.  I 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


171 


therefore  proposed  his  taking  a  journey  of  some  months 
with  me,  through  various  parts  of  England  and  Scotland  ; 
telling  him,  'When  you  are  tired,  or  like  it  best,  you 
may  come  into  my  carriage  ;  but  remember,  that  riding 
on  horseback  is  the  best  of  all  exercises  for  you,  so  far 
as  your  strength  will  permit.'  He  looked  upon  this  as 
a  call  from  Providence,  and  very  willingly  accepted  of 
the  proposal.  We  set  out  (as  I  am  accustomed  to  do) 
early  in  spring,  and  travelled  by  moderate  journeys, 
suited  to  his  strength,  which  gradually  increased,  eleven 
or  twelve  hundred  miles." 

14.  We  are  not  to  infer  from  this  account,  however, 
that  he  travelled  all  the  spring,  summer,  and  autumn, 
with  Mr.  Wesley.  He  wrote  to  me  from  Madeley  in 
May  and  in  September,  and  to  other  friends  in  March 
and  August,  and  from  Bristol  to  some  friends  in  July. 
The  case  I  believe  was  this :  he  joined  Mr.  Wesley  at 
London,  or  more  probably  at  Bristol,  in  the  latter  end  of 
February  or  the  beginning  of  March,  and  accompanied 
him  on  his  journeys  through  Gloucestershire,  and  Wor- 
cestershire, and  a  part  of  Warwickshire,  Staffordshire, 
and  Shropshire.  lie  did  not,  however,  proceed  farther 
north  with  him  at  that  time,  but  stopped  at  Madeley  in 
the  latter  end  of  March,  for  reasons  which  he  mentions 
to  me  in  the  following  letter  written  soon  after : — 

"  My  Dear  Brother, — I  thank  you  for  your  letter. 
I  would  have  answered  you  before  had  I  not  been  over- 
done with  writing.  I  have  just  concluded  an  answer  to 
Mr.  Evans  and  Dr.  Price  ;  a  work  which  I  have  under- 
taken with  a  desire  to  serve  the  cause  of  religion,  as 
well  as  that  of  loyalty.  This  work  has  prevented  me 
from  following  Mr.  Wesley,  as  well  as  the  uncertainty 
in  which  the  clergyman  who  is  here  with  me  (a  student 
from  Edmund  Hall)  left  me  with  respect  to  his  stay. 
And  as  he  has  just  accepted  of  a  place  near  Manches- 
ter, I  shall  be  still  without  a  curate.  I  see  so  little  fruit 
in  these  parts  that  I  am  almost  disheartened,  both  with 
respect  to  the  power  of  the  word  and  the  experience  of 
the  professors  I  converse  with.  I  am  closely  followed 
with  the  thought  that  the  kingdom  in  the  Holy  Ghost  is 
almost  lost;  and  that  faith  in  the  dispensation  of  the 
Spirit  is  at  a  very  low  ebb.  But  it  may  be  I  think  so  on 
account  of  my  little  experience  and  the  weakness  of  the 


172 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


faith  of  those  I  converse  with.  It  may  be  better  in  all 
other  places.  I  shall  be  glad  to  travel  a  little  to  see  the 
goodness  of  the  land.  God  deliver  us  from  all  extremes, 
and  make  and  keep  us  humble,  loving,  disinterested,  and 
zealous!  I  have  almost  run  my  race  of  scribbling.  I 
preached  before  Mr.  Greaves  came  as  much  as  my 
strength  could  well  admit,  although  to  little  purpose. 
But  I  must  not  complain.  If  one  person  receive  a  good 
desire  in  ten  years,  by  my  instrumentality,  it  is  a  greater 
honour  than  I  deserve ;  an  honour  for  which  I  should 
think  I  could  not  be  too  thankful,  if  my  mind  were  as  low 
as  it  ought  to  be.  Let  us  bless  the  Lord  for  all  things. 
We  have  reasons  innumerable  to  do  it.  Bless  him  on 
my  account  as  well  as  your  own,  and  the  God  of  peace 
be  with  you  ;  nor  forget  to  ask  that  he  may  be  with  your 
sincere  friend,  J.  F." 

15.  Thus,  notwithstanding  the  discouragements  he 
met  with,  and  his  increasing  state  of  weakness,  he  still 
went  on  with  his  work  of  writing  and  preaching  as  he 
was  able:  buying  up  for  these  purposes  every  moment 
of  time  which  he  possibly  could,  arrd  attending,  above 
all,  to  the  progress  of  grace  in  his  own  soul.  "I 
thought,"  says  he  to  Mr.  Vaughau,  "  I  should  soon  have 
done  with  controversy  ;  but  now  I  give  up  the  hope  of 
having  done  with  it  before  I  die.  There  are  three  sorts 
of  people  I  must  continually  attack,  or  defend  myself 
against,  Gallios,  Pharisees,  and  Antinomians.  I  hope  I 
shall  die  in  this  harness,  fighting  against  some  of  them. 
I  do  not  however  forget  that  the  Gallio,  the  Simon,  and 
the  Nicolas  vjithin,  are  far  more  dangerous  to  me  than 
those  without.  In  my  own  heart,  that  immense  field,  I 
must  first  fight  the  Lord's  battles  and  my  own.  Help 
me  here,  j;)in  me  in  this  field.  All  Christians  are  here 
militiamen,  if  they  are  not  professed  soldiers.  O  my 
frierrd  I  need  wisdom — meekness  of  wisdom!  A  heart 
full  of  it  is  better  than  all  your  cider  vault  full  of  the 
most  srenerous  liquors  ;  arrd  it  is  irr  Christ  for  us.  O  go 
and  ask  for  you  and  me,  and  I  shall  ask  for  myself  and 
you.  What  a  mercy  is  it  that  our  Lord  bears  stock! 
May  we  not  be  ashamed  nor  afraid  to  come  and  beg 
every  rnomerrt  for  wine  and  milk,  grace  and  wisdom. 

"  Beware,  my  friend,  of  the  world  :  let  not  its  cares 
nor  the  deceitfulness  of  its  riches  keep  or  draw  you  from 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


173 


Jesus.  Before  you  handle  the  birdlime,  be  sure  you  dip 
your  heart  and  hand  in  the  oil  of  grace.  Tin.e  flies. 
Years  of  plenty  and  of  scarcity,  of  peace  and  of  war, 
disappear  before  the  eternity  to  which  we  are  all  hast- 
ening. May  we  see  now  the  winged  despatch  of  time 
as  we  shall  see  it  in  a  dying  hour;  and  by  coming  to, 
and  abiding  in  Christ,  our  fortress  and  city  of  refuge, 
may  we  be  enabled  to  bid  defiance  to  our  last  enemy. 
Christ  has  fully  overcome  him,  and  by  the  victory  of  the 
Head  the  living  members  cannot  but  be  fully  victori- 
ous." 

Hi.  In  the  meantime,  however,  this  return  to  such 
close  study  and  incessant  labour,  not  only  impeded  his 
restoration  to  health,  but  even  increased  the  disorder, 
insomuch  that,  May  1 1,  he  mentions  his  "  having  had  for 
some  days  the  symptoms  of  an  inward  consumptive  de- 
cay— spitting  blood,  &c."  On  this  occasion  he  writes 
thus  to  Mr.  Charles  Wesley  : — "  What  are  you  doing  in 
London  ?  Are  you  ripening  as  fast  for  the  grave  as  I  am  ? 
How  should  we  lay  out  every  moment  for  God  !  Thank 
God  I  look  at  our  last  enemy  with  great  calmness.  I 
hope,  however,  that  the  Lord  will  spare  me  to  publish 
my  end  of  the  controversy,  which  is,  A  Double  Disser- 
tation upon  the  Doctrines  of  Grace  and  Justice.  This 
piece  w  ill,  I  flatter  myself,  reconcile  all  the  candid  Cal- 
vioists  and  candid  Arminians,  and  be  a  mean  of  pointing 
out  the  way  in  which  peace  and  harmony  might  be  re- 
stored to  the  Church. 

"  I  still  look  for  an  outpouring  of  the  Spirit,  inwardly 
and  outwardly.  Should  I  die  before  that  great  day,  I 
shall  have  the  consolation  to  see  it  from  afar,  like  Abra- 
ham and  the  Baptist,  and  to  point  it  out  to  those  who 
shall  live  when  God  does  this. 

"  Thank  God.  I  enjoy  uninterrupted  peace  in  the  midst 
of  my  trials,  which  are  sometimes  not  a  few.  Joy  also 
I  possess;  but  I  look  for  a  joy  of  a  superior  nature. 
The  Lord  bestow  it  when  and  how  he  pleaseth  !  I  thank 
God,  I  feel  myself  in  a  good  degree  dead  to  praise  and 
dispraise  :  I  hope  at  least  that  it  is  so  ;  because  I  do  not 
feel  that  the  one  lifts  me  up,  or  that  the  other  dejects 
me.  I  want  to  see  a  pentecostal  Christian  Church,  and  if 
it  be  not  to  be  seen  at  this  time  upon  earth,  I  am  willing 
to  go  and  see  this  glorious  wonder  in  heaven.    How  is 


174 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


it  with  you?  Are  you  ready  to  seize  the  crown  in  the 
name  of  the  Redeemer  reigning  in  your  heart?  We 
run  a  race  toward  the  grave.  John  is  likely  to  outrun 
you,  unless  you  have  a  swift  foot.  The  Lord  grant  we 
may  sink  deeper  into  the  Redeemer's  grave,  and  there 
live  and  die,  and  gently  glide  into  our  own. 

"  Let  us  pray  that  God  would  renew  our  youth  as  that 
of  the  eagle,  that  we  may  bear  fruit  in  our  old  age.  The 
Lord  strengthen  you  to  the  last !  I  hope  I  shall  see  you 
again  before  my  death  ;  if  not,  let  us  rejoice  at  the 
thought  of  meeting  in  heaven.  Give  my  kind  love  to 
Mrs.  Wesley,  to  my  god-daughter,  and  to  her  brothers, 
who  all,  I  hope,  remember  their  Creator  in  the  days  of 
their  youth.   Adieu.    I  am,  &c,  J.  F." 

17.  Although  the  circumstance  has  not  been  noticed 
by  any  of  those  who  have  published  memoirs  of  Mr. 
Fletcher,  yet  it  appears,  from  the  date  of  several  of  his 
letters,  that  he  spent  a  part  at  least  of  the  summer 
of  this  year  at  Bristol,  for  the  sake  of  trying  the  Hot- 
well  water. 

A  letter  to  Mr.  Charles  Perronet  in  his  own  hand- 
writing, now  before  me,  dated  Bristol,  July  12,  1776, 
makes  this  evident  : — "  Having  an  opportunity,"  says 
he,  "  of  writing  a  line  to  you  by  a  friend  whom  I  meet 
daily  at  the  Hotwells,  and  who  is  about  setting  out  for 
Canterbury,  I  gladly  embrace  the  opportunity  of  thank- 
ing you  for  your  inquiries  about  my  health.  I  am  here 
drinking  the  waters:  with  what  effect  time  will  show. 
The  Lord  keeps  me  hanging  by  a  thread  :  he  weighs  me 
in  the  balance  of  life  and  death.  I  trust  him  for  the 
choice.  He  knows  far  better  than  I  which  is  best,  and 
I  leave  all  to  his  unerring  wisdom."  After  noticing  the 
various  other  means  he  used,  beside  drinking  the  wa- 
ters, for  the  recovery  of  his  health,  he  adds: — "With 
respect  to  my  mind  I  am  calm,  and  wait  in  submission 
what  the  Lord  will  say  concerning  me.  I  wait  to  be 
baptized  into  all  his  fulness,  and  trust  the  word,  the 
faithful  word  of  his  grace.  Afflictions  and  shakes  may 
be  a  ploughing  necessary  to  make  way  for  the  heavenly 
seed,  and  to  prepare  me  to  bring  forth  some  fruit  in  life 
or  death.  Whether  it  be  in  the  former  or  in  the  latter, 
I  hope  I  shall  live  and  die  the  object  of  your  love,  and 
the  subject  of  your  prayers,  as  you  are  of  the  cordial 


T.IT1S  OF  REV.  J.  FLFTCHER. 


175 


affection  and  good  wishes  of  your  devoted  brother,  and 
obliged  companion  in  tribulation,  J.  F." 

In  a  letter  to  a  friend  in  his  own  parish,  also  dated 
Bristol,  and  written  the  day  preceding,  he  gives  the  fol- 
lowing account  of  the  state  of  his  body  and  soul  : — 

"With  respect  to  my  belter  part,  I  feel  a  degree  of 
righteousness,  peace,  and  joy,  and  wait  for  the  esta- 
blishment of  his  iutemal  kingdom  in  the  Holy  Ghost : 
and  tlte  hopes  of  my  being  rooted  and  grounded  in  the 
love  that  casts  out  every  degree  of  slavish  fear,  grow  more 
lively  every  day.  I  thank  God,  I  am  not  afraid  of  any 
evil  tidings,  and  my  heart  stands  calm,  believing  in  the 
Lord,  and  desiring  him  to  do  with  me  whatsoever  he 
pleaseth.  With  respect  to  my  body,  I  know  not  what 
to  sav  :  but  the  physician  says  'he  hopes  I  shall  do 
well ;'  and  so  I  hope  and  believe  too,  whether  I  recover 
or  not.  Health  and  sickness,  life  and  death,  are  best 
when  the  Lord  sends  them;  and  all  things  work  together 
for  good  to  those  that  love  God. 

"I  am  forbid  preaehiug  ;  but,  blessed  be  God,  I  am 
not  forbid  by  my  heavenly  Physician  to  pray,  believe, 
and  love.  This  is  a  sweet  work,  which  heals,  delights, 
and  strengthens.  Let  us  do  it  till  we  recover  our  spirit- 
ual strength  ;  and  then,  whether  we  shall  be  seen  oa 
earth  or  not,  will  matter  nothing.  I  hope  you  bear  me 
oh  vour  heart,  as  I  do  you  oa  mine."  Intending  this 
letter  to  be  read  to  other  pious  persons  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, he  adds,  "  My  wish  for  you  is,  that  you  may 
be  inward  possessors  of  an  inward  kingdom  of  grace; 
that  you  may  so  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness  as 
to  be  tilled  ;  and  that  you  may  so  call  on  your  heavenly 
Father  in  secret,  that  he  may  reward  you  openly  with 
abuudance  of  grace,  which  may  evidence  to  all  that  he 
honowrs  you  because  you  honour  him. 

"  O  be  hearty  in  the  cause  of  religion.  I  would  have 
you  either  hot  or  cold;  for  it  is  a  fearful  thing  to  be  in 
danger  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God,  and 
sharing  the  fate  of  the  lukewarm.  Be  humbly  zealous 
for  your  own  salvation  and  for  God's  glory  ;  nor  forget 
to  care  for  the  salvation  of  each  other.  The  case  of 
wicked  Cain  is  very  common,  and  the  practice  of  many 
says,  with  that  wretch,  Am  I  my  brother's  keeper?  O 
pray  God  to  keep  you  by  his  mighty  power  through. 


IT6 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


faith  to  salvation.  Keep  yourselves  in  the  love  of  God 
if  you  are  there  ;  and  keep  one  another  by  example,  re- 
proof, exhortation,  encouragement,  social  prayer,  and 
a  faithful  use  of  all  the  means  of  grace.  Use  your- 
selves to  bow  at  Christ's  feet;  as  your  prophet,  go  to 
him  continually  for  the  holy  anointing  of  his  Spirit,  who 
will  be  a  teacher  always  near,  always  with  you  and  in 
you.  If  you  have  that  inward  Instructer,  you  will  suf- 
fer no  material  loss  when  your  outward  teachers  are 
removed.  Make  the  most  of  dear  Mr.  Greaves  while 
you  have  him.  While  you  have  the  light  of  God's  word 
believe  in  the  light,  that  you  may  be  the  children  of  the 
light,  fitted  for  the  kingdom  of  eternal  light,  where  I 
charge  you  to  meet,  with  joy,  your  affectionate  brother 
and  minister,  J.  F." 

18.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  therefore,  but  that  he  was 
at  Bristol,  and  did  try  the  Hotwdl  water  that  summer. 
It  should  seem,  however,  that  he  reaped  little  or  no 
benefit  from  it,  as  we  find  him  returned  to  Madeley 
about  the  middle  of  August,  and  signifying  to  his  friend, 
Mr.  Ireland,  that  "his  breast  was  constantly  very  weak, 
but,"  adds  he,  "if  it  please  God  it  will  in  time  recover 
strength.  Mr.  Greaves  will  take  all  the  duty  upon  him- 
self, and  I  shall  continue  to  take  the  rest,  the  exercise, 
and  the  food  which  were  recommended  to  me.  The 
Lord  grant  me  grace  to  repose  myself  on  Christ,  to  ex- 
ercise myself  in  charity,  and  to  feed  upon  the  bread  of 
life,  which  God  has  given  us  in  Jesus  Christ.  We  all 
need  this  spiritual  regimen ;  may  we  be  enabled  to  ob- 
serve it  as  strictly  as  we  do  the  bodily  regimen  of  our 
earthly  physicians !" 

19.  His  disorder  increasing  rather  than  abating,  the 
kind  friend  to  whom  the  preceding  lines  were  addressed, 
by  the  advice  of  a  physician,  wisely  recommended  his 
going,  as  soon  as  convenient,  to  the  south  of  France  and 
to  Switzerland,  as  the  most  likely  mean  to  restore  him. 
Mr.  Fletcher,  however,  would  not  then  consent  to  go. 
"I  have  not  at  present  the  least  idea,"  says  he,  August 
24,  "  that  I  am  called  to  quit  my  post  here.  I  see  no 
probability  of  being  useful  in  Switzerland.  My  call  is 
here,  I  am  sure  of  it.  If,  then,  I  undertook  the  journey, 
it  would  be  merely  to  accompany  you.  I  dare  not  gra- 
tify friendship  by  taking  such  a  step  ;  and  so  much  less, 


LITE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


177 


as  I  have  no  faith  in  the  prescriptions  of  your  physician  : 
and  I  think  that  if  health  be  better  for  us  than  sickness, 
we  may  enjoy  it  as  well  here  as  in  France  or  Italy.  If 
sickness  be  best  for  us  why  should  we  shun  it?  Every 
thing  is  good  when  it  comes  from  God.  Nothing  but  a 
baptism  of  fire,  and  the  most  evident  openings  of  Pro- 
vidence, can  engage  me  in  such  a  journey.  If  you  be- 
lieve that  Providence  calls  you  to  make  it,  go  :  the  bare 
idea  that  the  journey  will  do  you  good,  may,  by  God's 
blessing,  be  of  service  to  you.  If  1  reject  your  obliging 
offer  to  procure  me  a  substitute,  accuse  not  my  friend- 
ship to  you,  but  attribute  it  to  my  fear  of  taking  a  false 
6tep,  of  quitting  my  post  without  command,  and  of 
engaging  in  a  warfare  to  which  the  Lord  does  not  call 
me.  My  refusal  wounds  my  friendship  for  you  ;  but  I 
hope  it  will  not  prevent  your  being  persuaded  that  I  am, 
with  lively  gratitude,  altogether  yours  in  Jesus  Christ. 
Adieu.  J.  F." 

It  appears  that  in  the  beginning  of  September  he 
thought  his  health  better  than  it  had  been  in  August.  He 
had  not  preached,  however  ;  but  had  declined  it,  he  says, 
rather  from  "  a  sense  of  duty  to  his  friends,  and  the  high 
thoughts  he  had  of  Mr.  Greaves'  labours,  than  to  spare 
himself:  for  if  I  am  not  mistaken,"  adds  he,  "  I  am  as 
able  to  do  my  work  now,  as  I  was  a  year  ago."  In  this 
particular  he  certainly  was  mistaken,  and  probably  was 
led  into  the  mistake  by  a  person  (a  physician,  I  suppose) 
near  Litchfield,  whom  he  terms  "a  pious  gentleman, 
and  esteemed  eminent  for  his  skill  in  disorders  of  the 
breast."  This  gentleman  had  assured  him  "that  he  was 
in  no  immediate  danger  of  a  consumption  of  the  lungs, 
but  that  his  disorder  was  upon  the  nerves,  in  consequence 
of  too  much  close  thinking." 

20.  The  advice  of  this  gentleman  seems  to  have  been 
the  more  acceptable  to  Mr.  Fletcher,  because  it  did  not 
prohibit  him  altogether  from  his  favourite  employments 
of  writing  and  preaching.  He  also  prescribed  medicines 
which  Mr.  Fletcher  judged  "had  been  of  service  in 
taking  off  his  feverish  heats,  and  stopping  his  spitting 
of  blood."  Having  thus  obtained  the  permission  of  his 
physician  to  labour  a  little,  in  the  way  he  thought  most 
important  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  good  of  mankind, 
be  was  ready  enough  to  embrace  it.    "If  God  add  one 


178  LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


inch  to  my  span,"  says  he  to  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  Sept. 
15,  "I  see  my  calling.  I  desire  to  know  nothing  but 
Christ,  and  him  crucified,  revealed  in  the  Spirit.  I  long 
to  feel  the  utmost  power  of  the  Spirit's  dispensation  ; 
and  I  will  endeavour  to  bear  my  testimony  to  the  glory 
of  that  dispensation  both  with  my  pen  and  tongue. 
Some  of  our  injudicious  or  inattentive  friends  will  proba- 
bly charge  me  with  novelty  for  it ;  but  be  that  as  it  will, 
let  us  meekly  stand  for  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  and  trust 
the  Lord  for  every  thing.  I  thank  God,  I  feel  myself 
so  dead  to  popular  applause,  that  I  trust  I  should  not  be 
afraid  to  maintain  a  truth  against  all  the  world  ;  and  yet, 
I  dread  to  dissent  from  any  child  of  God,  and  am  ready 
to  condescend  to  every  one.  O  what  depths  of  humble 
love,  and  what  heights  of  Gospel  truth,  do  I  sometimes 
see !  I  want  to  sink  into  the  former,  and  rise  into  the 
latter.  Help  me  by  your  example,  letters,  and  prayers; 
and  let  us,  after  our  forty  years'  abode  in  the  wilderness 
with  Moses  and  Joshua,  break  forth  after  our  Joshua 
into  the  Canaan  of  pure  love.    I  am,  <fec,       J.  F." 

"At  our  age,"  says  he  to  another  friend,  "recovery 
can  be  but  a  short  reprieve  ;  let  us  then  give  up  our- 
selves daily  to  the  Lord,  as  people  who  have  no  confi- 
dence in  the  flesh,  and  do  not  trust  to  to-morrow.  I 
find  my  weakness,  unprofitableness,  and  wretchedness, 
daily  more  and  more ;  and  the  more  I  find  them,  the 
more  help  I  have  to  sink  into  self-abhorrence.  Nor  do 
I  despair  to  sink  one  day  so  in  it  as  to  die  to  self,  and 
revive  in  my  God.    Farewell.  J.  F." 

21.  He  speaks  in  a  similar  manner  to  me  in  a  letter 
dated  a  few  days  after,  when  he  was  still  at  Madeley : — 

"My  Very  Dear  Brother, — Your  kind  letter  has 
followed  me  from  Bristol  here,  where  I  have  been  for 
some  weeks.  My  health  is  better  than  it  was  in  August, 
blessed  be  God !  but  it  is  far  from  being  established. 
Close  thinking  and  writing  had  brought  upon  me  a  slow 
fever,  with  a  cough,  and  spitting  of  blood,  which  a  phy- 
sician took  for  symptoms  of  a  consumption  of  the  lungs; 
whereas  they  were  only  symptoms  of  a  consumption  of 
the  nerves  and  solids.  He  put  me  accordingly  upon  the 
lowest  diet,  and  had  me  blooded  four  times,  which  made 
much  against  me.  I  am,  however,  much  recovered  since 
I  have  begun  to  eat  meat  again.    My  cough  and  spitting 


■LIVE  OF  RET.  J.  FLETCHER. 


179 


of  blood  have  left  me  ;  but  want  of  sleep,  and  a  slow 
fever,  keep  me  still  very  low.  If  the  Lord  please,  he 
can  in  a  moment  restore  my  strength:  but  he  needs  not 
•a  worm,  a  fly.  I  thank  him  for  having  kept  me  perfectly 
resigned  to  his  will,  and  calm  in  the  awful  scene  which 
I  have  passed  through.  I  enjoy  the  kingdom  in  weak- 
ness, and  still  look  for  its  coming  with  power. 

"I  design  to  conclude  my  last  controversial  piece  as  I 
«hall  be  able,  and  hope  it  will  give  my  friends  some 
satisfaction  ;  because  it  will  show  the  cause  of  all  oui 
doctrinal  errors,  and  place  the  doctrine  of  election  and 
reprobation  upon  its  proper  basis.  I  finish  also  my 
Kssay  on  the  Dispensation  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the 
thing  I  want  most  to  see  your  thoughts  upon.  Pray  for 
light  and  power,  truth  and  love,  and  impart  to  me  a 
share  of  your  experiences  to  quicken  my  -dullness  of 
apprehension  and  feeling.  If  God  spare  me  a  little,  it 
will  be  to  bear  my  testimony  to  the  doctrine  of  perfect, 
spiritual  Christianity.  May  we  be  personal  witnesses 
of  this  glorious  dispensation,  and  be  so  inflamed  with 
love  as  to  kindle  all  around  us  ;  so  filled  with  power 
that  rivers  may  flow  from  us,  and  gladden  the  spots  of 
the  vineyard  where  our  lot  is  cast.  Give  my  kind  love 
and  thauks  to  all  inquiring  friends.  If  I  live  over  the 
winter,  1  shall,  should  Providence  open  the  way,  visit 
you  all,*  and  assure  you  that  I  am,  inChriet,  your  affec- 
tionate brother  and  servant,  J.  F/" 

22.  The  former  of  the  tracts  mentioned  in  the  above 
letter,  which  he  terms  "  his  last  controversial  piece,'* 
was  that  entitled,  "The  Reconciliation,  or  an  easy 
method  to  unite  the  professing  people  of  God,  by  placing 
the  doctrines  of  Grace  and  Justice  in  such  a  light  as  to 
make  the  candid  Arminians  Bible  Calvinists,  and  the 
candid  Calvinists  Bible  Arminians:''''  He  had  also 
termed  it,  in  an  advertisement  previously  published,  "A 
Plan  of  Reconciliation  between  the  Defenders  of  the 
Doctrities  of  partial  Grace,  commonl  v  called  Calvinists, 
and  the  Defenders  of  the  Doctrines  o  f  impartial  Justice, 
commonly  called  Arminians.''''  This  tract,  although 
comprehending  one  hundred  and  forty  pages,  and  al- 
though he  was  in  a  state  of  increasing  weakness,  and 


*  I  was  then  at  Newcastle-upon-Tyne.. 


180 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


obliged,  as  we  shall  soon  see,  to  travel  to  preserve  his 
life,  he  was  enabled  to  complete  by  the  beginning  of  the 
next  spring,  when  he  dedicated  it  to  his  friend,  Mr.  Ire- 
land, in  the  following  words  : — 

"  Dear  Sir, — To  whom  could  a  plan  of  reconcilia- 
tion between  the  Calvinists  and  Arminians  be  more  pro- 
perly dedicated  than  to  a  son  of  peace,  whose  heart, 
hand,  and  house  are  open  to  Calvinists,  Arminians,  and 
Neuters  ?  You  kindly  received  the  divines  who  contend 
for  the  doctrines  of 'grace  ;  and  I  want  words  to  des- 
cribe the  Christian  courtesy  which  you  show  to  me,  and 
other  ministers,  who  make  a  stand  for  the  doctrines  of 
justice.  To  you  I  am  indebted  for  the  honour  of 
a  friendly  interview  with  the  author  of  the  Circular 
Letter,  (Mr.  Shirley,)  which  I  thought  myself  obliged 
to  oppose.  And  as  you  succeeded  in  that  labour  of 
love,  it  is  natural  for  me  to  hope  that  by  your  influence, 
and  by  the  patronage  of  such  candid,  generous  peace- 
makers, as  the  gentleman*  to  whom  I  have  often  com- 
pared you,  these  reconciling  sheets  will  be  perused  by 
some  with  more  attention  than  if  they  had  no  name  pre- 
fixed to  them  but  that  of  your  most  obliged,  affectionate 
friend  and  servant,  J.  F." 

23.  In  this  dedication,  and  in  the  title  of  the  work  to 
which  it  is  prefixed,  Mr.  Fletcher  refers  to  a  small  tract, 
before  mentioned,  which  had  preceded  it  in  the  publi- 
cation, entitled,  "  The  Doctrines  of  Grace  and  Justice 
equally  essential  to  the  pure  Gospel  :  with  some  Re- 
marks on  the  mischievous  Divisions  caused  among  Chris- 
tians by  parting  those  Doctrines."  This  piece,  being 
intended  as  an  introduction  to  the  Reconciliation,  since 
the  first  edition,  has  been  printed  and  sold  in  one  pam- 
phlet with  it,  and  both  taken  together  must  certainly  be 
considered,  by  every  unprejudiced  and  enlightened  per- 
son, as  peculiarly  calculated  to  answer  the  end  pro- 
posed. I  doubt  not,  indeed,  but  they  did  answer  that 
end,  with  regard  to  many,  on  both  sides  of  the  ques- 
tion.   Some,  however,  and  indeed  not  a  few,  of  Mr. 

♦  John  Thornton,  Esq.,  "  a  great  friend,"  says  he,  "  to  a  catholic 
Gospel.  If  clergymen  are  backward  to  promote  peace,  the  God 
of  peace  may  provoke  them  to  jealousy,  by  raising  from  among 
the  laity  such  insiruments  of  reconciliation  as  will  be  a  terror  to 
bigotry,  and  an  example  of  universal  love." 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


18] 


Fletcher's  opponents,  were  not  thus  to  be  won.  This 
is  evident  from  the  following  clauses  of  a  letter  to  the 
same  disinterested  and  truly  catholic  friend,  written  at 
this  time  : — 

M  I  thank  you  for  your  kind  letter,  and  am  glad  you 
will 'continue  to  oppose  bigotry,  though  I  would  not  have 
you  bring  a  whole  house  about  your  ears,  for  the  sake  of 
bo  insignificant  a  creature  as  I  am.  Many,  who  espouse 
the  sentiments  of  my  opponents,  condemn  me  without 
having  heard  me  out ;  and,  upon  the  dreadful  charges 
which  they  hear  brought  against  me,  they  are  not  much 
to  blame  ;  for  what  good  man  will  think  well  of  a  4  blas- 
phemer, and  an  enemy  to  the  Gospel  V  I  hope,  for  my 
part,  to  do  what  shall  be  in  my  power  to  remove  preju- 
dices, and  trust  to  gain  some  resignation  and  patience  by 
what  I  shall  not  be  able  to  remove.  God  is  my  witness 
that  I  honour  and  love  them,  though  I  will  never  part 
with  my  liberty  of  exposing  error  wherever  I  shall 
detect  it.  Why  might  I  not  endeavour  to  take  off  a 
spot  from  a  friend's  sleeve,  without  running  the  risk  of 
losing  his  friendship,  and  incurring  his  ill  will?" 

^24.  In  the  meantime,  while  some  of  his  bigoted  oppo- 
nents, and  their  prejudiced,  narrow-minded  friends,  who 
neither  knew  him  nor  his  principles,  were  viewing  him 
as  a  "  blasphemer,  and  an  enemy  to  the  Gospel ;"  the 
pious  part  of  his  parishioners,  who  had  long  observed 
his  spirit  and  conduct,  and  knew  him  well,  were  ready 
almost  to  rank  him  with  prophets  and  apostles,  and 
certainly  judged  him  one  of  the  holiest  and  best  of  men. 
"  A  fortnight  ago,"  says  he  to  his  friend,  in  the  letter 
last  quoted,  "  I  paid  a  visit  to  West  Bromwich  :  I  ran 
away  from  the  kindness  of  my  parishioners,  who  op- 
pressed me  with  tokens  of  their  love.  To  me  there  is 
nothing  so  extremely  trying  as  excessive  kindness.  I 
am  of  the  king's  mind,  when  the  people  showed  their 
love  to  him  on  his  journey  to  Portsmouth  :  'I  can  bear,' 
he  said,  '  the  hissings  of  a  London  mob,  but  these  shouts 
are  too  much  for  me.'  You,  my  dear  friend,  Mrs.  Ire- 
land, Mrs.  Norman,  and  all  your  family,  have  put  me  to 
that  severe  trial  to  which  all  trials  caused  by  the  hard 
words  that  have  been  spoken  of  me  are  nothing.  I 
return  you  all  my  warmest  thanks,  and  pray  that,  excess 
excepted,  you  may  all,  in  the  day  of  your  weakness, 


182 


E1FE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


meet  with  as  kind  nurses  and  benefactors  as  you  have 
proved  to  me." 

25.  The  state  of  his  health,  however,  although  he  had 
60  lately  judged  himself  much  better,  soon  began  to 
■decline,  and  his  disorder  to  increase  to  such  an  alarm- 
ing degree,  that  the  possibility  of  his  recovery,  without 
a  miracle,  was  universally  doubted.  But  far  was  he, 
while  in  these  circumstances,  from  being  daunted  or 
cast  down  at  the  apparent  approach  of  the  king  of  ter- 
rors. Rather,  "  he  looked  forward,  (Gilpin's  Notes,) 
with  increasing  desire,  to  the  happy  moment  when  he 
should  exchange  the  weapons  of  war  for  the  «rown  of 
glory.  Not  that  he  was  averse  to  the  duties  of  his 
vocation,  or  wearied  with  the  length  of  his  services  ; 
but  being  exceedingly  athirst  for  God,  as  the  hart 
panteth  after  the  water  brooks,  so  pantcth  his  soul  after 
the  more  immediate  presence  of  God.  Though  he  was 
favoured  with  the  enjoyment  of  many  inestimable  bless- 
ings by  the  way,  yet  he  looked  with  unutterable  long- 
ings to  the  end  of  his  course  ;  knowing  that  to  be  at 
home  in  the  body  is  to  be  absent  from  t/ie  Lord.  Though 
he  experienced  inexpressible  delight  in  the  society  of 
such  as  worshipped  in  the  outer  courts  of  the  Lord's 
house  ;  still  he  saw  it  infinitely  more  desirable  to  asso- 
ciate with  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect  in  the 
inner  places  of  his  invisible  temple.  And  though  he 
was  at  times  permitted  a  momentary  glimpse  of  hea- 
venly mysteries,  yet  he  earnestly  desired  that,  mortality 
being  swallowed  up  of  life,  he  might  behold  with  open 
face  the  glory  of  the  Lord." 

26.  This  desire,  which  accompanied  him  through 
every  state,  was  expressed  with  a  more  than  ordinary 
degree  of  fervour  in  seasons  of  weakness  and  disease. 
In  these  solemn  intervals,  when  he  appeared  to  be 
speedily  advancing  toward  the  confines  of  eternity,  he 
rejoiced  as  a  weary  traveller  within  sight  of  his  home. 
His  immortal  prospects  became  more  enlarged  and  trans- 
porting, his  conversation  was  correspondent  to  the  gran- 
deur of  his  views,  and  his  whole  appearance  was  that 
of  a  man  already  clothed  in  the  wedding  garment,  and 
hastening  to  sit  down  at  the  marriage  supper  of  the 
Lamb.  There  was  something  in  his  deportment,  upon 
these  awful  occasions,  which  reminded  me  of  the  trans- 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


1S3 


figuration  of  his  Master  upon  Mount  Tabor : — While 
Moses  and  Elias  were  conversing  with  the  blessed  Jesus 
on  his  approaching  decease,  the  fashion  of  his  coun- 
tenance was  altered,  and  his  raiment  became  white  and 
glistering :  so  while  the  harbingers  of  death  were  ap- 
parently completing  their  work  on  the  emaciated  frame 
of  this  holy  man,  his  silent  meditations  have  been  fre- 
quently accompanied  with  so  much  visible  delight,  such 
an  ecstatic  glow  has  diffused  itself  over  his  whole  coun- 
tenance, and  his  eye  has  been  directed  upward  with  a 
look  of  such  inexpressible  sweetness,  that  one  would 
almost  have  supposed  him,  at  such  seasons,  conversing 
with  angelical  spirits  on  his  approaching  dissolution, 
and  the  glory  that  should  follow. 

27.  But,  notwithstanding  the  intimate  views  he  en- 
joyed of  a  happy  immortality,  and  the  intense  desire  he 
expressed  to  be  with  Christ ;  when  he  considered  the 
importance  of  his  charge,  and  the  probability  of  his 
being  rendered  farther  serviceable  to  the  Church,  charity 
toward  his  companions  in  tribulation  gave  birth  to  a 
new  desire,  and  kept  him  in  a  state  of  sweet  suspense 
between  the  labours  of  grace  and  the  rewards  of  glory, 
it  was  in  such  a  state  that  he  took  an  affecting  leave  of 
his  people  at  Madeley,  viz.,  in  the  autumn  of  this  year, 
being  about  to  spend  a  few  weeks  in  travelling  with  Mr 
Wesley.  "  He  delivered,"  says  Mr.  Gilpin,  "  a  discourse 
upon  that  occasion  from  those  pertinent  words  of  St. 
Paul:  What  I  shall  choose,  I  wot  not.  For  I  am  in  a 
strait  between  two,  having  a  desire  to  depart,  and  to  be 
with  Christ,  which  is  far  better :  nevertheless,  to  abide  in 
the  flesh  is  more  needful  for  you.  In  the  course  of  this 
sermon  he  adverted,  in  the  most  pathetic  terms,  to  the 
painful  situation  in  which  he  then  presented  himself  to 
his  hearers  ;  so  debilitated  by  disease  that  he  was  un- 
able any  longer  to  discharge  among  them  the  public 
duties  of  his  ministerial  station.  From  his  present 
weakness  he  looked  baek  to  bis  past  labours,  making 
many  affecting  reflections  upon  his  own  unvvorthiness, 
the  indubitable  testimonies  he  had  received  of  his  peo- 
ple's unfeigned  affeetion,  and  the  unusual  success  of  his 
ministry  among  them.  Here  he  enlarged  upon  the  two 
leading  desires  of  his  soul.  On  the  one  hand,  he  made 
a  solemn  declaration  of  the  earnest  longing  with  which 


184 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


he  desired  to  be  absent  from  the  body,  that  he  might  be 
p/csent  with  the  Lord :  and  on  the  other,  he  expressed 
a  more  than  parental  attachment,  which  excited  in  him 
a  wish  that  he  might  still  be  permitted  to  labour  for 
their  furtherance  and  establishment  in  the  faith  of  the 
Gospel.  But  what  to  choose  he  knew  not:  nor  was  his 
present  suspense  attended  with  any  degree  of  anxiety, 
since  he  foresaw  unquestionable  blessings  awaiting  him 
on  either  hand.  He  saw  the  balance  poised  by  unerr- 
ing wisdom,  and  was  cheerfully  content  to  wait  the  issue 
with  one  uninterrupted  request — that,  whether  he  lived, 
he  might  live  unto  the  Lord,  or  whether  he  died,  he 
might  die  unto  the  Lord  ;  that,  whether  living  or  dying, 
he  might  be  the  the  Lord's. 

"Such  was  the  sweet  suspense  which  this  man  of  God 
experienced  between  a  state  of  labour  and  a  state  of  rest, 
which  continued  for  more  than  two  years,  and  which 
was  at  last  happily  determined  in  favour  of  his  people, 
who  were  permitted  the  enjoyment  of  his  ministry  for 
a  long  season  after  this  period,  rejoicing  in  the  goodness 
of  the  Lord,  and  abundantly  profiling  by  the  labours  of 
his  invigorated  servant." 

28.  Where  Mr.  Fletcher  joined  Mr.  Wesley,  I  am  not 
certain.  But,  November  21,  1770,  he  wrote  to  me  from 
Loestoff  as  follows: — 

"  My  Dear  Friend, — Mr.  Wesley  having  invited  me 
to  travel  with  him,  to  see  if  change  of  air  and  motion 
will  be  a  mean  of  restoring  me  to  a  share  of  my  former 
health,  I  have  accompanied  him  through  Oxfordshire, 
Northamptonshire,  and  Norfolk  ;  and  I  hope  I  am  rather 
better  than  worse.  I  find  it  good  to  be  with  this  extra- 
ordinary servant  of  God.  I  think  his  diligence  and  wis- 
dom are  matchless.  It  is  a  good  school  for  me,  only  I 
am  too  old  a  scholar  to  make  a  proficiency.  However, 
let  us  live  to  God  to  day,  and  trust  him  for  to-morrow: 
so  that  whether  we  are  laid  up  in  a  sick  bed,  or  a  damp 
grave,  or  whether  we  are  yet  able  to  act  we  may  be 
able  to  say, 

'God  is  the  sea  of  love, 

Where  all  my  pleasures  roll : 
The  circle  where  my  passions  move, 
And  centre  of  my  soul.' 

I  find  the  nearer  I  am  to  you,  the  more  glad  should  I  be 


LIFE  OF  REV.   J .  FLETCHER. 


185 


to  be  strengthened  by  the  mutual  faith  of  you  and  me. 
The  bearer  hopes  to  be  soon  at  Newcastle,  and  I  send 
this  scrawl  by  him  to  assure  you  of  my  repentance  to- 
ward God,  my  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  my  lively 
expectation  of  the  kingdom  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  my 
brotherly  love  toward  you.  The  Lord  fill  you  with 
every  grace  and  gift  which  can  complete  the  Christian 
and  the  evangelist,  and  what  I  ask  for  you,  I  trust  you 
will  not  forget  to  ask  for  your  affectionate  friend  and 
brother,  J.  F." 

29.  Soon  after  this,  according  to  Mr.  Wesley's  ac- 
count, they  returned  to  London,  when  Mr.  Fletcher 
appeared  to  be  considerably  better.  "And  I  verily 
believe,"  says  Mr.  Wesley,  '"if  he  had  travelled  with 
me,  partly  in  the  chaise,  and  partly  on  horseback,  only 
a  few  months  longer,  he  would  have  quite  recovered  his 
health.  But  this  those  about  him  would  not  permit :  so 
being  detained  in  (or  near)  London  by  his  kind,  but 
injudicious  friends,  while  I  pursued  my  journeys,  his 
spitting  of  blood  with  all  the  other  symptoms  returned, 
and  rapidly  increased,  till  the  physicians  pronounced 
him  to  be  far  advanced  in  a  true  pulmonary  consump- 
tion." 

It  being  judged  quite  improper  for  him  to  remain  in 
London,  on  Dec.  16,  1776,  he  retired  to  the  house  of  his 
friends,  Cnarles  and  Mary  Greenwood,  (both  now  with 
God,)  to  Stoke  Newington.  Here  he  had  the  advice  of 
the  most  eminent  physicians  that  London  could  afford. 
He  was  also  in  a  good  air,  and  had  every  convenience 
and  every  help  which  art  could  bestow.  One  of  the 
family,  of  whom  Mr.  Wesley  inquired  concerning  this 
part  of  his  life,  gave  him  the  following  information: — 

30.  Agreeably  to  your  desire,  I  endeavour  to  recol- 
lect some  particulars  of  Mr.  Fletcher  during  his  abode 
at  Newington. 

"  When  he  first  came,  he  was,  by  Dr.  FothergilPs  ad- 
vice, under  the  strictest  observance  of  two  things,  rest 
and  silence.  These,  together  with  a  milk  diet,  were 
supposed  to  be  the  only  probable  means  of  his  recovery. 
In  consequence  of  these  directions  he  spoke  exceeding 
little.  If  he  ever  spoke  more  than  usual  it  did  not  fail 
to  increase  his  spitting  of  blood  ;  of  which,  indeed,  he 
was  seldom  quite  clear,  although  it  was  not  violent, 


186 


LTFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


Therefore  a  great  part  of  his  time"  was  spent  in  being 
read  to.  But  it  was  not  possible  to  restrain  him  alto- 
gether from  speaking.  The  lire  which  continually  burned 
in  his  heart  many  waters  could  not  quench.  It  often 
burst  out  unawares.  And  then  how  did  we  wonder 
(like  those  who  formerly  heard  his  Lord)  at  the  gracious 
words  which  proceeded  out  of  his  mouth!  He  could  not 
have  sustained  life  without  sometimes  giving  vent  to  his 
heart.  No  penance  could  have  appeared  so  severe  a 
cross  to  him  as  to  be  debarred  from  speaking  of,  or  to 
God.  His  natural  vivacity,  with  his  intense  love  of 
Jesus,  continually  impelled  him  to  speak.  But  on  being 
reminded  of  his  rule,  with  a  cheerful  smile,  he  was  all 
submission  ;  consenting  by  signs  only  to  stir  up  those 
about  him  to  pray  and  praise  ! 

31.  "Whoever  has  read  Mr.  Fletcher's  Last  Check  to 
Antinomianism,  and  has  had  the  privilege  of  observing 
his  spirit  and  conduct,  will  not  scruple  to  say  that  he 
was  a  living  comment  on  his  own  account  of  Christian 
perfection.  It  is  an  alarming  word  which  our  Lord 
speaks  to  the  angel  of  the  Church  at  Sardis,  I  have  not 
found  thy  works  perfect  before  God.  But  as  far  as 
man  is  able  to  judge,  from  the  whole  tenor  of  his  beha- 
viour, he  did  possess  perfect  humility,  perfect  resigna- 
tion, and  perfect  love.  Suitable  to  this  was  the  testi- 
mony concerning  him  which  was  given  in  Lady  Hun- 
tingdon's chapel  at  Bristol,  even  by  Mr.  V.,  a  gentleman 
strongly  attached  to  those  opinions  which  Mr.  Fletcher 
thought  it  his  duty  to  oppose.  'I  have  enjoyed  the 
privilege  of  being  several  weeks  under  the  same  roof 
with  dear  Mr.  Fletcher.  And  during  that  time  I  have 
been  greatly  edified  by  his  perfect  resignation  to  the 
will  of  God,  and  by  being  a  witness  to  his  exemplary 
conduct  and  uncommon  grace.' 

32.  "When  he  was  able  to  converse,  his  favourite 
subject  was,  the  promise  of  the  Father,  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  including  that  rich  peculiar  blessing  of 
union  with  the  Father  and  the  Son,  mentioned  in  that 
prayer  of  our  Lord  which  is  recorded  in  the  seventeenth 
chapter  of  St.  John.  Many  were  the  sparks  of  living 
fire  which  occasionally  darted  forth  on  this  beloved 
theme.  '  We  must  not  be  content,'  said  he,  '  to  be  only 
cleansed  from  sin  ;  we  must  be  filled  with  the  Spirit.' 


LIFE  OF  REV.  1.  FLETCHER. 


One  asking  him  what  was  to  be  experienced  in  the  full 
accomplishment  of  the  promise,  '  O,'  said  he,  4  what 
shall  I  say  !  All  the  sweetness  of  the  drawings  of  the 
Father  ;  all  the  love  of  the  Son ;  all  the  rich  effusions 
of  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost;  more  than  ever 
can  be  expressed  are  comprehended  here  !  To  attain  it 
the  Spirit  maketh  intercession  in  the  soul,  like  a  God 
wrestling  with  a  God  !' 

33.  "It  was  in  these  favoured  moments  of  converse 
that  we  found,  in  a  particular  manner,  the  reward  which 
is  annexed  to  the  receiving'  a  prophet  in  the  name  of  a 
prophet.  And  in  some  of  those  he  occasionally  men- 
tioned several  circumstances,  which  (as  none  knew 
them  but  himself)  would  otherwise  have  been  buried  in 
oblivion. 

"One  of  those  remarkable  passages  was,  'In  the  be- 
ginning,' said  he,  'of  my  spiritual  course,  I  heard  the 
voice  of  God,  in  an  inexpressibly  awful  sound,  go  through 
my  soul  in  those  words,  If  any  man  will  be  my  disciple, 
let  him  deny  himself.  He  mentioned  another  peculiar 
manifestation  of  a  later  date,  in  which,  said  he,  '  I  was 
favoured,  like  Moses,  with  a  supernatural  discovery  of 
the  glory  of  God  in  an  ineffable  converse  with  him  ;  so 
that  whether  T  was  then  in  the  body  or  out  of  the  body  I 
eannot  tell.' 

34.  "  On  another  occasion,  he  said,  '  About  the  time 
of  my  entering  into  the  ministry,  I  one  evening  wander- 
ed into  a  wood,  musing  on  the  importance  of  the  office 
I  w  as  going  to  undertake.  I  then  began  to  pour  out  my 
soul  in  prayer ;  when  such  a  feeling  sense  of  the  justice 
of  God  fell  upon  me,  and  such  a  discovery  of  his  dis- 
pleasure at  sin,  as  absorbed  all  my  powers,  and  lilled  my 
soul  with  an  agony  of  prayer  for  poor  lost  sinners.  I 
continued  therein  till  the  dawn  of  day  ;  and  I  considered 
this  as  designed  of  God  to  impress  upon  me  more  deeply 
the  meaning  of  those  solemn  words,  There  fore  knowing 
the  terrors  of  the  Lord,  we  persuade  men.''  " 

35.  The  blessed  state  of  his  soul  continually  mani- 
fested itself  by  its  overflowing  good  will  to  all  that  came 
in  his  way.  And  yet  his  spirit  was  so  deeply  impressed 
with  those  words,  Not  as  though  I  had  already  attained, 
that  the  vehemence  of  his  desire  for  a  fuller  manifest- 
ation of  God  seemed  sometimes  to  border  upon  unhap- 


188 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


piness.  But  his  ardent  soul  only  felt  the  full  impres- 
sion of  those  words  of  the  apostle,  Forgetting-  the  things 
that  are  behind,  and  reaching  forth  to  those  that  are  be- 
fore, I  press  toward  the  mark,  for  the  prize  of  my  high 
calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesvs. 

36.  "One  end  of  his  retiring  to  Newington  was  that 
he  might  hide  himself  from  company.  But  this  design 
was  in  no  wise  answered  ;  for  company  came  from  every 
side.  He  was  continually  visited  by  high  and  low,  and 
by  persons  of  various  denominations  :  one  of  whom 
being  asked,  when  he  went  away,  what  he  thought  of 
Mr.  Fletcher,  said,  'I  went  to  see  a  man  that  had  one 
foot  in  the  grave  ;  but  I  found  a  man  that  had  one  foot 
in  heaven.'  Among  them  that  now  visited  him  were 
several  of  his  beloved  and  honoured  opponents ;  to 
whom  he  confirmed  his  love  (however  roughly  they  had 
treated  him)  by  the  most  respectful  and  affectionate  be- 
haviour. But  he  did  not  give  up  any  part  of  the  truth 
for  which  he  had  publicly  contended  :  although  some 
(from  whom  one  would  have  expected  better  things)  did 
not  scruple  to  affirm  the  contrary.  Those  ef  his  par- 
ticular friends  who  visited  him  here  will  not  easily  for- 
get how  he  exhausted  his  whole  soul  in  effusions  of 
thankfulness  ;  Messrs.  Cartwright  and  Cavendish  in  par- 
ticular, with  his  faithful  and  affectionate  friend,  Mr.  Ire- 
land, will  remember  their  interviews  with  him.  And 
those  of  the  family  were  almost  oppressed  by  the  out- 
pourings of  his  love  and  gratitude  whenever  they  show- 
ed their  love  in  the  most  inconsiderable  instance.  Yea, 
so  thankful,  in  proportion,  would  he  be  to  even  the 
meanest  servant. 

37.  "  It  was  not  without  some  difficulty  that  Mr.  Ire- 
land at  length  prevailed  upon  him  to  sit  for  his  picture. 
While  the  limner  was  drawing  the  outlines  of  it,  he  was 
exhorting  both  him  and  all  that  were  in  the  room,  not 
only  to  get  the  outlines  drawn,  but  the  colourings  also, 
of  the  image  of  Jesus  on  their  hearts.  He  had  a  very 
remarkable  facility  in  making  allusions  of  this  kind  ;  in 
raising  spiritual  observations  from  every  accidental  cir- 
cumstance ;  in  turning  men's  employments,  pleasures, 
and  pains,  into  means  of  edification  ;  this  he  did,  in  or- 
der to  engage  the  attention  of  the  thoughtless,  the  more 
deeply  to  fix  the  attention  of  the  thoughtful,  and  to  pre- 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


vent  the  trifling  away  of  time  in  unprofitable  conversa- 
tion. And  such  little  incidents  as  used  to  pass  away- 
unnoticed,  by  almost  any  other  person,  acquired  from 
Mr.  Fletcher's  tine  imagination  a  kind  of  grace  and  dig- 
nity. To  give  an  instance.  Being  ordered  to  be  let  blood, 
while  his  blood  was  running  into  the  cup,  he  took  occa- 
sion to  expatiate  on  the  precious  blood-shedding  of  the 
Lamb  of  God.  And  even  when  he  did  not  speak  at  all, 
the  seraphic  spirit  which  beamed  from  his  languid  face, 
during  those  months  of  pain  and  weakness,  was, 

c:  A  lecture  silent,  yet  of  sovereign  use." 

[But  it  is  necessary  to  be  observed  here,  says  Mr. 
Wesley,  that  this  facility  of  raising  useful  observations 
from  the  vnost  trifling  incidents,  was  one  of  those  pecu- 
liarities in  him  which  cannot  be  proposed  to  our  imita- 
tion. In  him  it  partly  resulted  from  nature,  and  was 
partly  a  supernatural  gift.  But  what  was  becoming  and 
graceful  in  Mr.  Fletcher,  would  be  disgustful  almost  in 
any  other.] 

33.  But  Mr.  Fletcher  was  not  only  eminently  useful  by 
his  conversation  to  the  members  of  the  kind  family  at 
Newington,  where  he  resided  these  few  weeks,  and  to 
several  individuals,  whether  ministers  or  others,  who 
occasionally  visited  it,  but  the  Christian  letters  which 
his  love  to  his  flock  at  Madeley,  and  to  his  friends  in  dif- 
ferent pi  ices,  constrained  him  to  write,  were  then,  and 
have  been  since,  a  peculiar  blessing  to  many.  "Which 
his  love  constrained  him  to  write,"  I  say*  because,  not- 
withstanding the  charge  given  him  by  his  physician,  and 
the  advice  and  entreaties  of  those  about  him,  he  could 
not  be  restrained  from  this  exercise  of  zeal  and  brotherly 
kindness.  "They  forbid  my  writing,"  says  he  to  Mr. 
Ireland,  February  24,  "but  I  will  wiite  to  the  last. 
Blessed  be  God  who  giveth  us  the  victory  over  death  and 
its  pain,  by  Jesus  Christ.''''  An  extract  from  one  of 
these  letters,  written  about  a  fortnight  after  his  going  to 
Newington,  and  addressed  to  his  parishioners  at  Made- 
lev,  Mr.  Wesley  has  given  us  in  his  short  account  of 
Mr.  Fletcher's  life.  I  shall  here  insert  the  same  letter 
rather  more  at  largre  : — 

"My  Dear  Parishioners, — I  hoped  to  have  spent 
the  Christmas  holidays  with  you,  and  to  have  ministered 


too 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


to  you  in  holy  things;  but  the  weakness  of  my  body 
confining-  me  here,  1  humbly  submit  to  the  Divine  dis- 
pensation, and  ease  the  trouble  of  my  absence  by  being 
present  with  you  in  spirit,  and  by  reflecting  on  the  plea- 
sure I  have  felt  in  years  past  while  singing  with  you, 
Unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is  given,  &c. 
This  truth  is  as  important  now  as  it  was  then,  and  as 
worthy  to  be  thankfully  received  at  Newington  as  at 
Madeley.  Let  us  then  receive  it  with  all  readiness,  and 
it  will  unite  us :  we  shall  meet  in  Christ,  the  centre  of 
lasting  union,  the  source  of  true  life,  the  spring  of  pure 
righteousness  and  joy  ;  and  our  hearts  shall  be  full  of 
the  song  of  angels,  Glory  be  to  God  on  high !  Peace  on 
earth!  Good  will  toward  each  other,  and  all  mankind! 

"In  order  to  this,  may  the  eye  of  your  understanding 
be  more  and  more  opened  to  see  your  need  of  a  Re- 
deemer ;  and  to  behold  the  suitableness,  freencss,  and 
fulness  of  the  redemption  which  was  wrought  out  by  the 
Son  of  God,  and  which  is  applied  by  the  Spirit,  through 
faith.  The  wish  which  glows  in  my  soul  is  so  ardent 
and  powerful  that  it  brings  me  down  on  my  knees  while 
I  write,  and,  in  that  supplicating  posture,  I  entreat  you 
all  to  consider  and  improve  the  day  of  your  visitation, 
and  to  prepare,  in  good  earnest,  to  meet,  with  joy,  your 
God,  and  your  unworthy  pastor,  in  another  world. 
Weak  as  I  was  when  I  left  Madeley,  I  hear  that  several, 
who  were  then  young,  healthy,  and  strong,  have  got  the 
start  of  me ;  and  that  some  have  been  hurried  into  eter- 
nity without  being  indulged  in  a  moment's  warning. 
May  the  awful  accident  strike  a  deeper  consideration 
into  all  our  souls.  May  the  sound  of  their  bodies, 
dashed  to  pieces  at  the  bottom  of  a  pit,  rouse  us  to  a 
speedy  conversion,  that  we  may  never  fall  into  the  bot- 
tomless pit,  and  that  iniquity  and  delays  may  not  be  our 
eternal  ruin.  Tottering  as  I  stand  on  the  brink  of  the 
grave,  some  of  you  who  seem  far  from  it  may  drop  into 
it  before  me;  for  what  has  happened  may  happen  still. 

"Let  us  then  all  awake  out  of  sleep;  and  let  us  all 
prepare  for  our  approaching  change,  and  give  ourselves 
no  rest  till  we  have  got  Gospel  ground  to  hope  that  our 
great  change  will  be  a  happy  one.  In  order  to  this,  I 
beseech  you,  by  all  the  ministerial  and  providential  calls 
you  have  had  for  these  seventeen  years,  harden  not  your 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


191 


hearts.  Let  the  long  suffering  of  God  toward  us,  who 
survived  the  hundreds  I  have  buried,  lead  us  all  to  re- 
pentance. Dismiss  your  sins,  and  embrace  Jesus  Christ, 
who  wept  for  you  in  the  manger,  bled  for  you  iti  Gethse- 
mane,  hung  for  you  on  the  cross,  and  now  pleads  for 
you  on  his  mediatorial  throne.  By  all  that  is  near  and 
dear  to  you,  as  men  and  as  Christians,  meet  me  not,  on 
the  great  day,  in  your  sins  and  in  your  blood,  enemies 
to  Christ  by  unbelief,  and  to  God  by  wicked  works. 
Meet  me  in  the  garment  of  repentance,  in  the  robe  of 
Christ's  merits,  and  in  the  white  linen,  (the  purity  of 
heart  and  life,)  which  is  the  holiness  of  the  godly  : — that 
holiness  without  which  no  man  shall  see  God.  Let  the 
time  past  suffice,  in  which  some  of  you  have  lived  in 
sin.  By  repentance  put  off  the  old  man  and  his  works; 
by  faith  put  on  the  Lord  Jesus  and  his  righteousness. 
Let  all  wickedness  be  gone, — for  ever  gone,  with  the 
old  year;  and  with  the  new  one  begin  a  new  life,  a  life 
of  renewed  devotion  to  God,  and  of  increasing  love  to 
our  neighbour. 

"The  sum  of  all  I  have  preached  to  you  is  contained 
in  four  propositions  :  First,  Heartily  repent  of  your  sins, 
original  and  actual.  Secondly,  Believe  the  Gospel  of 
Christ  in  sincerity  and  truth.  Thirdly,  In  the  power 
which  true  faith  gives,  (for  all  things  commanded  are 
possible  to  him  that  believeth,)  run  with  humble  confi- 
dence the  way  of  God's  commandments  before  God  and 
men.  Fourthly.  By  continuing  to  take  up  your  cross 
and  to  receive  the  pure  milk  of  God's  word,  grow  in 
grace,  and  in  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ.  So  shall 
you  grow  in  peace  and  joy  all  the  days  of  your  life,  and 
when  rolling  years  shall  be  lost  in  eternity,  you  will  for 
ever  grow  in  bliss  and  heavenly  glory.  O  what  bliss  ! 
what  glory  !  The  Lord  shall  be  our  sun  and  our  crown  ; 
and  we  shall  be  jewels  in  each  other's  crown  ;  I  in  yours, 
and  you  in  mine.  For  ever  we  shall  be  with  the  Lord, 
and  with  one  another.  We  shall  all  live  in  God's  hea- 
venly Church,  the  heaven  of  heavens.  All  our  days  will 
be  a  Sabbath,  and  our  Sabbath  eternity.  No  bar  of 
business  or  sickness,  no  distance  of  time  nor  place,  no 
gulf  of  death  or  the  grave  shall  part  us  more.  We  shall 
meet  in  the  bosom  of  Abraham,  who  met  Christ  in  the 
bosom  of  Divine  love.    O  what  a  meeting  !    And  shall 


192 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


some  of  us  meet  there  this  very  year  which  we  are  just 
entering  upon  ?  What  a  year  !  On  that  blessed  year, 
if  we  are  of  the  number  of  those  who  die  in  the  Lord, 
our  souls  shall  burst  the  womb  of  this  corruptible  flesh; 
we  shall  be  born  into  the  other  world  ;  we  shall  behold 
the  Sun  of  righteousness  without  a  cloud,  and  for  ever 
bask  in  the  beams  of  his  glory.  Is  not  this  prospect 
glorious  enough  to  make  us  bid  defiance  to  sin  and  the 
grave  ;  and  to  join  the  cry  of  the  Spirit  and  the  Bride, 
Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly,  though  it  should  be  in 
the  black  chariot  of  death  ? 

"  Should  God  bid  me  to  stay  on  earth  a  little  longer, 
to  serve  you  in  the  Gospel  of  his  Son  ;  should  he  renew 
my  strength  (for  no  word  is  impossible  with  him)  to  do 
among  you  the  work  of  a  pastor,  I  hope  I  shall,  by  God's 
grace,  prove  a  more  humble,  zealous,  and  diligent  minis- 
ter than  I  have  hitherto  been.  Some  of  you  have  sup- 
posed that  I  made  more  ado  about  eternity  and  your 
precious  souls  than  they  were  worth  ;  but  how  great 
was  your  mistake  !  Alas  !  it  is  my  grief  and  shame  that 
I  have  not  been,  both  in  public  and  private,  a  thousand 
times  more  earnest  and  importunate  with  you  about  your 
spiritual  concerns.  Pardon  me,  my  dear  friends,  par- 
don me,  my  ignorances  and  negligences  in  this  respect. 
And  as  I  most  humbly  ask  your  forgiveness,  so  I  most 
heartily  forgive  any  of  you,  who  may,  at  any  time,  have 
made  no  account  of  my  little  labours.  I  only  entreat 
such  now  to  evidence  a  better  mind,  by  paying  a  double 
attention  to  the  loud  warnings  of  Providence,  and  to  the 
pathetic  discourses  of  the  faithful  minister  who  now 
supplies  my  place.  And  may  God,  for  Christ's  sake, 
forgive  us  all,  as  we  forgive  one  another! 

"  The  more  nearly  I  consider  death  and  the  grave, 
judgment  and  eternity,  the  more,  blessed  be  God,  I  feel 
that  I  have  preached  to  you  the  truth,  and  that  the  truth 
is  solid  as  the  Rock  of  ages.  Glory  be  to  his  Divine 
grace,  I  can  say,  in  some  degree,  '  Here  is  firm  footing.'' 
Follow  me,  and  the  sorrows  of  death,  instead  of  encom- 
passing you  around,  will  keep  at  an  awful  distance,  and, 
with  David,  we  shall  follow  our  great  Shepherd,  even 
through  the  dreary  valley,  without  fearing  or  feeling 
any  evil. 

"Although  I  hope  to  see  much  more  of  the  goodness 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


198 


of  the  Lord  in  the  land  of  the  living  than  I  do  sec  ;  yet, 
blessed  be  the  Divine  mercy,  I  see  enough  to  keep  my 
mind  at  all  times  unruffled,  and  to  make  me  willing 
calmly  to  resign  my  soul  into  the  hands  of  my  faithful 
Creator,  my  loving  Redeemer,  and  my  sanctifying  Com- 
forter, this  moment,  or  the  next,  if  he  call  for  it.  I 
desire  your  public  thanks  for  all  the  favours  he  showeth 
me  continually,  with  respect  to  both  my  soul  and  body. 
Help  me  to  be  thankful ;  for  it  is  a  pleasant  thing  to 
be  thankful.  May  our  thankfulness  crown  the  new 
year,  as  God's  patience  and  goodness  have  crowned  all 
our  life.  Permit  me  to  bespeak  an  interest  in  your 
prayers  also.  Ask  that  my  faith  may  be  willing  to 
receire  all  that  God's  grace  is  willing  to  bestow.  Ask 
that  I  may  meekly  suffer,  and  zealously  do  all  the  will 
of  God,  in  my  present  circumstances  ;  and  that,  living 
or  dying,  I  may  say,  with  the  witness  of  God's  Spirit, 
For  me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain. 

"  If  God  call  me  soon  from  earth,  I  beg  he  may,  in  his 
good  providence,  appoint  a  more  faithful  shepherd  over 
you.  You  need  not  fear  that  he  will  not :  you  see  that 
for  these  many  months  you  have  not  only  had  no  famine 
of  the  word,  but  the  richest  plenty ;  and  what  God  has 
done  for  months  he  can  do  for  years  ;  yea,  for  all  the 
years  of  your  life.  Only  pray  :  Ask,  and  you  shall  re- 
ceive. Meet  at  the  throne  of  grace,  and  you  shall  meet 
at  the  throne  of  glory  your  affectionate,  obliged,  and 
unworthy  minister,  J.  F." 

39.  In  another  letter,  written  a  fortnight  after  to  the 
same  people,  he  manifests  still  farther  his  own  deep 
humility,  and  his  fervent  love  to  them  as  the  flock  over 
which  the  Holy  Ghost  had  made  him  overseer.  I  shall 
here  insert  a  short  extract  from  this  also.  Addressing 
them  as  his  "  dear  companions  in  tribulation,"  he  pro- 
ceeds : — "All  the  children  of  God  I  love:  my  delight  is 
in  them  that  excel  in  strength,  and  my  tenderest  com 
passions  move  toward  those  that  exceed  in  weakness. 
But  of  all  the  children  of  God,  none  have  so  great  a 
right  to  my  peculiar  love  as  you.  Your  stated  or  occa- 
sional attendance  on-my  poor  ministry,  and  the  countless 
thousands  of  steps  you  have  taken  to  hear  the  word  of 
our  common  Lord  from  my  despised  pulpit,  as  well  as 
the  bonds  of  neighbourhood,  and  the  many  happv  hours 
9 


194 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


I  have  spent  before  the  throne  of  grace  with  you,  endear 
you  peculiarly  to  me. 

"  With  tears  of  grateful  joy  I  recollect  the  awful 
moments  when  we  have,  in  the  strength  of  our  dear 
Redeemer,  bound  ourselves  to  stand  to  our  baptismal 
vow  :  to  renounce  all  sin,  to  believe  all  the  articles  of 
the  Christian  faith,  and  keep  God's  commandments  to 
the  end  of  our  life  ;  especially  the  new  commandment, 
which  enjoins  us  to  love  one  another  as  Christ  has  loved 
us.  O  my  dear  brethren,  let  this  repeated  vow,  so 
reasonable,  so  just,  and  so  comfortable,  appear  to  us 
worthy  of  our  greatest  regard.  For  my  own  part,  ask- 
ing pardon  of  God,  and  you  all,  for  not  having  exulted 
mere  in  the  privilege  of  keeping  that  vow  every  day 
better,  and  of  loving  you  every  hour  more  tenderly,  I 
am  not  at  all  discouraged  ;  but  determine,  with  new 
courage  and  delight,  to  love  my  neighbour  as  myself; 
and  to  love  our  covenant  God,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost,  with  all  my  mind,  heart,  and  strength  : — with 
all  the  powers  of  my  understanding,  will,  and  affec- 
tions. This  resolution  is  bold,  but  it  is  evangelical  ; 
being  equally  founded  on  the  precept  and  promise  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  whose  cleansing  blood  can  atone 
for  all  our  past  unfaithfulness,  and  whose  almighty  Spi- 
rit can  enable  us  to  perform  all  Gospel  obedience  for  the 
time  to  come. 

"  I  find  much  comfort  in  my  weak  state  of  health, 
from  my  relation  to  my  covenant  God.  O  the  comfort 
oJf  cleaving  to  Christ  by  faith,  and  of  rinding  that  Christ 
is  our  all  !  In  that  centre  of  life  let  us  all  meet,  and 
death  itself  will  not  separate  us  ;  for  Christ  our  life  is 
the  resurrection  :  and  Christ,  our  common  resurrection, 
will  bring  us  back  from  the  grave,  to  worship  him  alto- 
gether, where  absence  and  sickness  shall  interrupt  and 
separate  us  no  more. 

"  I  sometimes  feel  a  desire  of  being  buried  where 
you  are  buried,  and  having  my  bones  lie  in  a  common 
earthen  bed  with  yours  ;  but  I  soon  resign  that  wish, 
and  leaving  that  particular  to  Providence,  I  exult  in 
thinking  that  whatever  distance  there  may  be  between 
our  graves,  we  can  now  bury  our  sins,  cares,  doubts, 
and  fears  in  the  one  grave  of  our  Divine  Saviour ;  and 
that  we  may  rejoice,  each  of  us  in  our  measure,  that 


LITE  01   REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


195 


neither  life  nor  death,  neither  things  present  nor  things 
to  come,  shall  ever  be  able  (while  we  hang  on  the  Cru- 
cified, as  he  hung  on  the  cross)  to  separate  us  from 
Christ  our  head,  nor  from  the  love  of  each  other  his 
members. 

'*  Love,  then,  one  another,  my  dear  brethren,  I  entreat 
you,  and  if  I,  your  poor  unworthy  shepherd,  am  smitten, 
be  not  scattered  ;  but  rather  be  more  closely  gathered 
into  Christ,  and  keep  near  each  other  in  faith  and  love, 
till  you  all  receive  our  second  Comforter  and  Advocate 
in  the  glory  of  his  fulness.  This  indwelling  of  the  Com- 
forter perfects  the  mystery  of  sanctification  in  the  be- 
liever's soul.  This  is  the  highest  blessing  of  the  Chris- 
tian covenant  on  earth.  Rejoicing  in  God  our  Creator, 
in  God  our  Redeemer,  let  us  look  for  the  full  comfort 
of  God  our  Sanctilier. 

"  My  paper  fails,  but  not  my  love.  It  embraces  yon 
all  in  the  bowels  of  Jesus  Christ ;  to  whose  love  I  ear- 
nestly recommend  you  ;  earnestly  desiring  you  would 
recommend  to  his  faithful  mercy  your  affectionate  friend 
and  brother,  vour  unworthv  pastor  and  fellow  helper  in 
the  faith,  J.  F." 

40.  He  wrote  letters  also  to  many  private  friends  in 
different  parts.  Indeed,  hardly  a  day  passed  in  which 
he  did  not  write  to  one  or  other.  But  as  extracts  from 
most  of  these  have  been  published,  I  shall  spare  myself 
and  the  reader  the  trouble  of  referring  to  many  of  them 
here.  Add  to  this,  that  whenever  he  found  any  ability 
for  it,  his  thoughts  and  pen  were  occupied  in  contribut- 
ing more  or  less  to  what  he  continued  to  have  much  at 
heart,  the  completing  of  his  forementioned  "  Plan  of 
Reconciliation."  Of  this,  January  19,  he  speaks  as 
follows  to  the  Rev.  Vincent  Perronet : — 

"I  have  of  late  thought  much  upon  a  method  of  re- 
conciling the  Calvinists  and  Arminians.  I  have  seen 
some  Calvinian  ministers  who  seem  inclined  to  a  plan 
of  pacilication.  I  wish  I  had  strength  enough  to  draw 
the  sketch  of  it  for  your  improvement.  I  think  the 
thing  is  by  no  means  impracticable,  if  we  would  but  look 
one  another  in  the  face,  and  fall  together  at  the  feet  of 
Him  who  makes  men  to  be  of  one  mind  in  a  house, 
and  made  once  all  believers  to  be  of  one  soul  in  the 
Church.    Let  us  pray,  hope,  wait,  and  be  ready  to  cast 


1 96 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


one  mite  of  endeavour  toward  the  blessing  of  a  recon- 
ciliation, in  which  none  could  be  more  glad  to  second 
you  than,  honoured  and  dear  sir,  your  affectionate, 
obliged  son  in  the  Gospel,  J.  F." 

41.  By  these  exertions  of  body  and  mind,  reading, 
thinking,  writing,  and  conversing,  he  undoubtedly 
greatly  impeded  his  recovery :  so  that,  although  he 
was  in  a  good  air,  had  good  accommodations,  and  a 
variety  of  helps  joined  to  the  kindness  of  his  friends, 
all  which  he  mentions  in  the  letter  last  quoted  with 
gratitude,  he  made  little  or  no  progress  toward  the 
recovery  of  his  health  while  at  Newington.  A  few  days 
before,  he  says  to  a  friend,  "  Venturing  to  ride  out  in 
the  frost,  the  air  was  too  sharp  for  my  weak  lungs,  and 
opened  my  wound,  which  has  thrown  me  back  again," 
On  the  29th  he  observes,  "  Providence  sent  me,  last 
Sunday,  Dr.  Turner,  who,  under  God,  saved  my  life 
twenty-three  years  ago  in  a  dangerous  illness  ;  and  I 
am  inclined  to  try  what  his  method  will  do.  He  orders 
me  asses'  milk,  chicken,  &c,  forbids  me  riding,  and 
recommends  the  greatest  quietness.  He  prohibits  the 
use  of  Bristol  water  ;  advises  some  waters  of  a  purga- 
tive nature,  and  tries  to  promote  expectoration  by  a 
method  that  so  far  answers,  though  I  spit  by  it  more 
blood  than  before.  It  will  be  in  order  to  cure  one  way 
or  other. 

"  With  respect  to  my  soul,  I  find  it  good  to  be  in  the 
balance,  awfully  weighed  every  day  for  life  or  death.  I 
thank  God  the  latter  has  lost  its  sting,  and  endears  to 
me  the  Prince  of  life.  But  O,  I  want  Christ,  my  re- 
surrection, to  be  a  thousand  times  more  dear  to  me ; 
and  doubt  not  he  will  be  so  when  I  am  filled  with  the 
Spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation  in  the  knowledge  of 
him.  Let  us  wait  for  that  glory,  praising  God  for  all 
we  have  received,  and  do  daily  receive  ;  and  trusting 
him  for  all  we  have  not  yet  received.  Let  our  faith  do 
justice  to  his  veracity,  our  hope  to  his  goodness,  and 
our  love  to  all  his  perfections.  It  is  good  to  trust  in 
the  Lord,  and  his  saints  like  well  to  hope  in  him.  I 
am  provided  here  with  every  necessary  and  convenient 
blessing  for  my  state.    The  great  have  even  done  me 

the  honour  of  calling.    Mr.  Shirley,  Mr.  R  d  Hill, 

Mr.  Peckwell,  &c.    I  exhort  them  to  promote  peace 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


197 


in  the  Church,  which  they  take  kindly.  I  hope  God 
will  incline  us  all  to  peace,  living  and  dying.  Lady 
Huntingdon  has  written  me  a  kind  letter  also.  O  for 
universal,  lasting  kindness  !  This  world  to  me  is  now 
heroine  a  world  of  love.  May  it  be  so  to  my  dear  friend 
also.  My  kindest  love  and  thanks  wait  on  yourself, 
Mrs.  Ireland,  and  all  your  dear  family,  J.  F." 

The  above  was  addressed  to  Mr.  Ireland,  and  three 
weeks  after  he  says  to  one  of  his  parishioners: — "My 
dear  friend,  Mr.  Ireland,  brought  me,  last  week,  Sir  John 
Elliot,  who  is  esteemed  the  greatest  physician  in  Lon- 
don in  consumptive  cases.  He  gave  hopes  of  my  re- 
covery upon  using  proper  diet  and  means.  I  was  bled 
yesterday  for  the  third  time  :  and  my  old  doctor  thinks, 
by  gentle  evacuations  and  spring  herbs,  to  mend  my 
juices.  Be  that  as  it  may,  I  calmly  leave  all  to  God ; 
and  use  the  means  without  trusting  in  them.  I  am  per- 
fectly taken  care  of  by  my  kind  friends,  whom  I  recom- 
mend to  your  prayers  as  well  as  myself. 

••  With  respect  to  my  soul,  I  calmly  wait,  in  unshaken 
resolution,  for  the  full  salvation  of  my  God;  ready  to 
trust  him,  and  to  venture  on  his  faithful  love,  and  on  the 
sure  mercies  of  David,  either  at  midnight,  noonday,  or 
cockcrowing :  for  my  times  are  in  his  hand,  and  his  time 
is  best,  and  is  my  time.  Death  has  lost  his  sting ;  and, 
I  thank  God,  I  know  not  what  hurry  of  spirit  is,  or  un- 
believing fears,  under  my  most  terrifying  symptoms. 
Glory  be  to  God  in  Christ  for  this  unspeakable  mercy ! 
Help  me  to  praise  him  for  it." 

42.  One  of  those  who  visited  him  at  Newington  was 
Mr.  William  Perronet :  a  pious,  sensible,  benevolent, 
and  amiable  man,  who  was  snatched  hence  in  the  strength 
of  his  years.  He  often  said  the  first  sight  of  Mr.  Fletcher 
fixed  an  impression  upon  his  mind  which  never  wore  off, 
till  it  issued  in  a  real  conversion  to  God  ;  accompanied 
with  a  most  affectionate  and  lasting  regard  for  the 
instrument  of  that  happy  change. 

Of  this  friendly  man  Mr.  Fletcher  writes  thus  to  Miss 
Perronet'. — "I  cannot  tell  yrou  how  much  I  am  obliged 
to  your  dear  brother  for  all  his  kind,  brotherly  attend- 
ance as  a  physician.  He  has  given  me  his  time,  his 
long  walks,  his  remedies  :  he  has  brought  me  Dr.  Turner 
several  times,  and  will  not  so  much  as  allow  me  to  rein? 


198 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER 


burse  his  expenses.  Help  me  to  thank  him  for  all  his 
prolusion  of  love,  for  I  cannot  sufficiently  do  it  myself. 
Give  my  duty  to  your  father :  I  throw  myself  in  spirit 
at  his  feet,  and  ask  his  blessing,  and  an  interest  in  his 
prayers.  Tell  him  that  the  Lord  is  gracious  to  me  ; 
does  not  suffer  the  enemy  to  disturb  my  peace  ;  and 
gives  me,  in  prospect,  the  victory  over  death.  Thanks 
be  to  God,  who  giveth  us  this  great  victory,  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  Absolute  resignation  to  the  Divine 
will,  baffles  a  thousand  temptations,  and  confidence  in 
our  Saviour  carries  us  sweetly  through  a  thousand  trials. 
God  fill  us  abundantly  with  both  !" 

43.  But  although  he  had  every  help  of  advice  and 
medicine,  as  well  as  diet,  air,  and  attendance,  which 
he  could  have,  all  at  this  time  proved  ineffectual  to  re- 
store him.  His  physicians,  therefore,  advised  that  he 
should  again  have  recourse  to  the  Bristol  waters.  Ac- 
cordingly Mr.  Ireland,  who  had  visited  him  while  at 
Nevvington,  and  had  brought  Sir  John  Elliott  to  see  him, 
as  before  mentioned,  came,  with  Mrs.  Ireland,  and  took 
him  to  their  house  at  Brislington,  near  Bristol,  for  that 
purpose.  A  little  after  his  arrival  there,  he  wrote  the 
following  letter  of  thanks  to  the  kind  friends  who  had 
entertained  him  so  long,  and  with  so  much  affection,  at 
Newington  : — 

"  To  my  very  dear  friends  and  benefactors,  Charles 
and  Mary  Greenwood, — My  prayers  shall  always  be 
that  the  merciful  may  find  mercy,  and  that  the  great 
kindness  I  have  found  under  your  quiet  roof  may  be 
showed  you  everywhere  under  the  canopy  of  heaven. 
I  think  with  grateful  joy  on  the  days  of  calm  retreat  I 
have  been  blessed  with  at  Newington,  and  lament  my 
not  having  improved  better  the  opportunity  of  sitting, 
like  Mary,  at  the  feet  of  my  great  Physician.  May  he 
requite  your  kind  care  to  a  dying  worm  by  abundantly 
caring  for  you  and  yours,  and  making  all  your  bed  in 
your  sickness  !  May  you  enjoy  full  health  !  May  you 
hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness,  both  that  of  Christ 
and  that  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  be  abundantly  filled 
therewith  !  May  his  rod  and  staff  comfort  you  under  all 
the  troubles  of  life,  the  decays  of  the  body,  the  assaults 
of  the  enemy,  and  the  pangs  of  death  !  May  the  reviving 
cordials  of  the  word  of  truth  be  ever  within  the  reach 


V1FV.  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


199 


of  your  faith,  and  may  your  eager  faith  make  a  ready 
.and  constant  use  of  them ;  especially  when  fainiiaga 
come  upon  you,  and  your  hands  begin  to  hang  down! 
May  you  stand  in  the  clefts  of  the  Rock  of  ages,  and 
there  he  safely  sheltered  when  all  the  storms  of  justice 
shall  fall  around  !  May  you  have  always  such  temporal 
and  spiritual  helps,  friends,  and  comforts,  as  I  have 
found  in  your  pleasing  retreat ! 

"  You  have  received  a  poor  Lazarus,  though  his  sores 
were  not  visible.  You  have  had  compassion  like  the 
good  Samaritan:  you  have  admitted  me  to  the  enjoy- 
ment, of  your  best  things;  and  he  that  did  not  deserve 
to  have  the  dogs  to  lick  his  sores  has  always  found  th« 
members  of  Jesus  ready  to  prevent,  to  remove,  or  to 
bear  his  burdens.  And  now  what  shall  I  say?  What 
but,  Tka/iks  be  to  God  for  his  unspeakable  gift!  and 
thanks  to  my  dear  friends  for  all  their  favours!  They 
will,  I  trust,  be  found  faithfully  recorded  in  my  breast 
when  the  great  Reioarder  of  those  who  diligently  seek 
him  will  render  to  every  man  according  to  his  works. 
Then  shall  a  raised  Lazarus  appear  in  the  gate  to  testify 
of  the  love  of  Charles  and  Mary  Greenwood  and  of  their 
godly  sister. 

"I  thought  myself  a  little  better  last  Sunday;  but  I 
have  since  spit  more  blood  than  I  had  done  for  weeks 
before.  Glory  be  to  God  for  every  providence  !  His 
will  be  done  in  me,  by  health  or  sickness,  by  life  or 
death  !  All  from  him  is,  and,  I  trust,  will  always  be  wel- 
come to  your  obliged  pensioner,  J.  F." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

From  his  leaving  Newington,  till  his  return  from  Switzerland  to 
Madeley. 

1.  It  was  in  the  latter  end  of  April,  1777,  that  Mr. 
Fletcher  was  removed  from  Newington  to  Bristol,  having 
continued  with  Mr.  Greenwood  upward  of  fifteen  weeks. 
"  I  was  desired  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ireland,"  says  Miss 
Thornton,  "  to  bear  them  company  to  Bristol,  which  I 


200 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


willingly  did.  Indeed,  I  looked  upon  it  as  a  call  from 
God :  nor  could  I  desire  a  greater  honour  than  to  share 
in  the  employment  of  angels,  in  ministering  to  a  distin- 
guished heir  of  salvation.  At  Brislington,  near  Bristol, 
he  continued  in  the  same  holy,  earnest  course  as  at  New- 
ington.  Every  day  he  drank  the  Hotvvell  water,  and  it 
agreed  with  him  well :  so  that  he  appeared  to  gather  a 
little  strength ;  though  not  so  swiftly  as  was  expected. 
And  all  the  strength  which  he  received  he  laid  out  in 
labours  of  love,  for  the  benefit  of  all  those,  rich  or  poor, 
whom  Providence  cast  in  his  way. 

"  Whenever  he  was  in  company  it  was  his  general 
method,  so  far  as  his  strength  would  admit,  to  pray  par- 
ticularly for  every  person  present.  And  from  his  habit- 
ual prayer  resulted  that  life  and  energy  in  his  words 
which  every  one  that  was  blessed  with  his  society  felt 
more  or  less.  Now  and  then  likewise  he  ventured  to 
pray  in  the  family.  But  he  was  not  wary  enough  in 
this.  He  more  than  once  so  much  exerted  himself  that 
he  was  brought  very  low.  As  soon  as  he  was  well 
enough  to  write,  he  was  intent  upon  finishing  two  trea- 
tises for  the  press.  The  Plan  of  Reconciliation,  in  par- 
ticular, lay  very  near  his  heart.  He  longed  to  conclude 
it  before  he  died,  which  he  wished  to  do,  breathing  peace 
to  Jerusalem,  and  pointing  out  to  the  children  of  God 
the  most  probable  means  of  effecting  it :  of  uniting  to- 
gether, in  the  bonds  of  peace  and  love,  all  the  true 
ministers  and  followers  of  Jesus." 

2.  From  Bristol  he  paid  his  friends  in  Bath  a  visit, 
from  whence,  July  8,  1777,  he  wrote  as  follows  to  one 
of  his  parishioners  : — 

"My  Dear  Brother, — I  heartily  thank  you  for  your 
kind  letter  ;  and  by  you  I  desire  to  give  my  best  thanks 
to  the  dear  companions  in  tribulation  whom  you  meet, 
and  who  so  kindly  remember  so  worthless  and  unprofit- 
able a  minister  as  me.  May  the  God  of  all  grace  and 
love,  our  common  Father,  and  our  all,  bless  you  all,  and 
all  our  brethren,  with  all  blessings  spiritual ;  and  with 
such  temporal  favours  as  will  best  serve  the  end  of  your 
growth  in  grace. 

"  My  desire  is,  if  I  should  be  spared  to  minister  to  you 
again,  to  do  it  with  more  humility,  zeal,  diligence,  and 
love  ;  and  to  make  more  of  you  all  than  I  have  done. 


XTTE  OT  RET.  J.  FLETCHER. 


201 


But  as  matters  are,  you  must  take  the  will  for  the  deed. 
Let  us  all  praise  God  for  what  is  past,  and  trust  him  for 
what  is  to  come.  The  Lord  enable  you  to  cleave  to 
Christ,  and  in  him  to  abide  in  one  mind,  striving  together 
for  the  hope  of  the  Gospel,  the  fulness  of  the  Spirit,  and 
ihat  kingdom  of  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the 
Holy  Ghost,  of  which  we  have  so  often  discoursed  to- 
gether, but  into  which  we  have  not  pressed  with  suffi- 
cient ardour  and  violence.  God  give  us  the  humble, 
violent  faith  which  inherits  the  promise  of  the  Father, 
that  we  may  triumph  in  Christ,  and  adorn  his  Gospel  in 
life  and  death. 

"  I  hope  to  see  you  before  the  summer  is  ended,  if  it 
please  God  to  spare  me  and  give  me  strength  for  the 
journey.  I  am  in  some  respects  better  than  when  I 
came  here,  and  was  enabled  to  bury  a  corpse  last  Sun- 
day to  oblige  the  minister  of  the  parish ;  but  whether 
it  was  that  little  exertion  of  voice  or  something  else, 
bad  symptoms  have  returned  since.  Be  that  as  it  may,  all 
is  well ;  for  He  that  does  all  things  well,  rules  and  over- 
rules all.  I  have  stood  the  heats  we  have  had  the«e  two 
■days  better  than  I  expected.  I  desire  you  will  help  me 
to  bless  the  Author  of  all  good  for  this  and  every  other 
blessing  of  this  life  :  but  above  all  for  the  lively  hopes 
x)f  the  next,  and  for  Christ  our  common  hope,  peace, 
joy,  wisdom,  righteousness,  salvation,  and  all.  In  him 
I  meet,  love,  and  embrace  you.  God  bless  you  all,  and 
crown  you  with  loving  kindness  and  tender  mercy  all 
the  day  long  !  I  live  if  you  stand.  Don't  let  me  want 
the  reviving  cordial  of  hearing  that  you  stand  together 
firm  in  the  faith,  broken  in  humility,  and  rejoicing  in  the 
loving  hope  of  the  glory  of  God.  Look  much  at  Jesus. 
Bless  God  much  for  the  gift  of  his  only  begotten  Son. 
Be  much  in  private  prayer.  Forsake  not  the  assembling 
yourselves  together  in  little  companies,  as  well  as  in 
public.  Walk  humbly  as  in  the  sight  of  death  and  eter- 
nity ;  and  ever  pray  for  your  affectionate,  but  unworthy 
minister,  J.  F." 

3.  He  made  no  long  stay  at  Bath,  but  spent  the  chief 
part  of  his  time  for  several  months  at  Brislington  or 
Bristol.  In  one  place  or  the  other,  as  well  as  at  New- 
ington,  he  was  visited  by  many  respectable  persons- 
Many  of  these  were  Calvinists  ;  several  of  whom  borje 
9* 


202 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


witness  to  his  deep  piety  and  exalted  spirit.  But  a  dis- 
senting minister,  after  pressing  him  hard  with  regard  to 
some  of  his  opinions,  told  him,  with  great  warmth, 
"Mr.  Fletcher,  you  had  better  have  been  gasping  for 
life  with  an  asthma,  or  have  had  all  your  limbs  unstrung 
by  a  palsy,  than  to  have  written  those  Checks."  Mr. 
Fletcher  replied,  "  Sir,  I  then,  wanted  more  love,  and  I 
do  so  still :"  and  in  his  highest  fervours  of  Divine  love 
he  always  acknowledged  his  want  of  more. 

4.  He-re  also  he  missed  no  opportunity  of  instructing 
servants  and  children,  suiting  his  discourse,  to  a  manner 
peculiar  to  himself,  to  their  capacity  or  their  business. 
And  what  would  have  appeared  low  in  another,  did  not 
appear  so  when  spoken  by  him.  Thus  he  advised  the 
cook  "  to  stir  up  the  fire  of  Divine  love  in  his  heart, 
•that  it  might  burn  up  all  the  rubbish  therein,  and  raise  a 
flame  of  holy  affection :  to  which,  with  the  greatest 
cordiality,  he  subjoined  a  short  prayer.  Thus  to  the 
housemaid  lie  said,  "  I  entreat  you  to  sweep  every  corner 
of  your  heart,  that  it  may  be  fit  to  receive  your  heavenly 
Guest."  To  a  poor  man  who  came  there  in  a  deep  con- 
sumption, but  little  concerned  for  his  soul,  he  said  in  a 
very  solemn  manner,  (laying  one  hand  on  his  own 
breast,  and  the  other  on  the  poor  man's,)  "God  has  fixed 
a  loud  knocker  at  your  breast  and  mine.  Because  we 
did  not  regard  as  we  ought  to  have  done  the  gentl« 
knocks  and  calls  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  his  word,  and  his 
providences,  he  has  taken  fast  hold  here,  and  we  cannot 
get  out  of  his  hand.  O  let  the  knocker  awaken  you, 
who  are  just  dropping  into  eternity !" 

When  one  or  another  occasionally  mentioned  any 
■unkind  thing  which  had  been  said  of  him  or  his  writings, 
if  the  person  who  had  said  it  was  named,  he  would  stop 
the  speaker  immediately,  and  offer  up  the  most  fervent 
,prayer  for  the  person  of  whom  he  spoke.  He  did  not 
willingly  suffer  any  one  to  say  any  thing  against  his  op- 
ponents. And  he  made  all  the  allowances  for  them 
which,  on  a  change  of  circumstances,  he  would  have 
wished  them  to  make  for  him. 

£3.  This  year  our  annual  conference  was  held  at  Bris- 
tol. Here  and  at  Brislington  I  had  several  opportuni- 
ties of  seeing  and  conversing  with  Mr.  Fletcher,  and 
always  found  him  in  the  devout  and  zealous  spirit  above 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCIHHt. 


203 


described.  He  happened  to  be  passing  by  the  door  of 
the  stable  belonging  to  our  chapel  in  Broad  Mead,  when 
I  was  lighting  from  my  horse,  and  I  shall  never  forget 
with  what  a  heavenly  air  and  sweet  countenance  he  in- 
stantly came  up  to  me  in  the  stable,  and  in  a  most  so- 
lemn manner,  putting  his  hands  upon  my  head  as  if  he 
had  heen  ordaining  me  for  the  sacred  office  of  the  minis- 
try, prayed  most  fervently  for,  and  blessed  me  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord.  To  act  in  this  way  indeed  .toward 
his  friends  was  no  uncommon  thing  with  him :  tie  was 
wont  to  do  it  frequently,  and  that  in  a  manner  so  serious 
and  devout  that  it  was  almost  impossible  not  to  be  deeply 
affected  with  it. 

"  In  August,  1777,"  says  Mr.  James  Rogers,  "  I  was 
appointed  to  (leave  Edinburgh,  and)  labour  in  the  east 
of  Cornwall.  J  had  long  desired  to  converse  with  that 
great  and  good  man,  Mr.  Fletcher  ;  and  now  an  oppor- 
tunity offered  itself.  Stopping  at  Bristol  for  a  few. days 
to  rest  myself  and  horse,  .!  heard  of  his  being  at  Mr.  ire- 
land's,  about  three  miles  off,  in  a  poor  state  of  health, 
and,  with  two  of  my  brethren,  went  to  see  him.  When 
we  came  there  he  was  returning  from  a  ride  which  he 
.was  advised  by  his  physician  to  take  every  day.  Dis- 
mounting from  his  horse,  he  came  toward  us  with  arms 
spread  open,  and  eyes  -lifted  up  to  heaven.  His  apos- 
tolic appearance,  with  the  whole  of  his  deportment, 
.amazingly  affected  ,ns. 

"The  first  words  he  spoke,  while  yet  standing  in  the 
stable  by  his  horse,  were  a  part  of  the  sixteenth  chapter 
of  St.  John,  most  of  which  he  repeated.  And  while  he 
.pointed  out  the.desvcnt.of  the-  Holy  Ghost,  as  the  great 
promise  of  the  Father,  and  the  .privilege  of  till  ftew  Tes- 
tament believers,  in  a  manner  I  never  had  heard  before, 
my  soul  was  dissolved  into  tenderness,  and  became  even 
as  melting  wax  before  the  fire. 

"As  an  invidious  report  had  been  spread  that  he  had 
recanted  what  he  had  lately  written  against  Calvinism,  in 
those  excellent  writings  of  his,  entitled  his  '  Checks,  &c.,' 
I  took  the  liberty  to  mention  the  report,  and  asked  him 
what  he  thought  had  given  rise  to  it  ?  He  replied  he 
.could  not  tell ;  except  that  he  had  refrained  from  speak- 
ing on  controverted  points  since  he  came  to  Mr.  Ire- 
Jand's  :  partly  by  reaeon  of  the  poor  state  of  his  health* 


204 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


and  because  he  did  not  wish  to  grieve  his  kind  friend  by 
making  his  house  a  field  of  controversy.  But  he  assured 
us  he  had  never  yet  seen  cause  to  repent  of  what  he  had 
written  in  defence  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wesley's  Minutes. 
And  although  he  believed  his  close  application  was  the 
mean  of  reducing  his  body  to  the  state  in  which  we 
then  saw  it,  yet  if  he  fell  a  victim,  it  was  in  a  good 
cause. 

"  After  a  little  farther  conversation  upon  the  universal 
love  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus,  we  were  about  to  take  our 
leave,  when  Mr.  Ireland  sent  his  footman  into  the  yard 
with  a  bottle  of  red  wine,  and  some  slices  of  bread  upon 
a  waiter  :  we  all  uncovered  our  heads  while  Mr.  Fletcher 
craved  a  blessing  upon  the  same  ;  which  he  had  no 
sooner  done,  but  he  handed  first  the  bread  to  each,  and 
lifting  up  his  eyes  to  heaven  pronounced  those  words, 
4  The  body  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  which  was  given  for 
thee,  preserve  thy  body  and  soul  unto  everlasting  life.' 
Afterward  handing  the  wine,  he  repeated  in  like  manner, 
'  The  blood  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,'  &c.  But  such  a 
sacrament  I  never  had  before.  A  sense  of  the  Divine 
presence  rested  upon  us  all  ;  and  we  were  melted  into 
floods  of  tears.  His  worthy  friend,  Mr.  Ireland,  grieved 
to  see  him  exhaust  his  little  strength  by  so  much  speak- 
ing, took  him  by  the  arm  and  almost  forced  him  into 
the  house  ;  while  he  kept  looking  wishfully,  and  speak- 
ing to  us,  as  long  as  wc  could  see  him.  We  then 
mounted  our  horses  and  rode  away.  That  very  hour 
more  than  repaid  me  for  my  whole  journey  from  Edin- 
burgh to  Cornwall." 

6.  September  6th,  of  that  year,  he  wrote  as  follows, 
to  the  amiable  and  venerable  Vincent  Perronct,  vicar  of 
Shoreham  : — 

V  My  Very  Dear  Father, — I  humbly  thank  you  for 
the  honour  and  consolation  of  your  two  kind  letters. 
Your  vouchsafing  to  remember  a  poor,  unprofitable 
worm,  is  to  me  a  sure  token  that  my  heavenly  Father 
earnestly  remembers  me  still.  He  is  God,  and  there- 
fore I  am  not  consumed  : — He  is  a  -merciful,  all-gra- 
cious God,  and  therefore  I  am  blessed  with  sympathizing 
friends  and  gracious  helpers  on  all  sides.  O,  sir,  if  in 
this  disordered,  imperfect  state  of  the  Church,  I  meet 
with  so  much  kindness,  what  shall  I  not  meet  with  when 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


205 


the  millennium  you  pray  for  shall  begin !  O  that  the 
thought,  the  glorious  hope,  may  animate  me  to  perfect 
holiness  in  the  fear  of  God  ;  that  I  may  be  accounted 
worthy  to  escape  the  terrible  judgments  which  will  make 
way  for  that  happy  state  of  things,  and  that  I  may  have 
a  part  in  the  first  resurrection,  if  I  am  numbered  among 
the  dead  before  that  happy  period  begin  ! 

1  O !  for  a  firm  and  lasting  faith, 
To  credit  all  the  Almighty  saith ! 
To  embrace  the  promise  of  his  Son, 
And  call  that  glorious  rest  our  own !' 

"  We  are  saved  by  hope  at  this  time.  But  hope  that  is 
seen  is  not  hope.  Let  us  abound,  then,  in  hope,  through 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost:  so  shall  we  antedate  the 
millennium,  take  the  kingdom,  and  enjoy,  beforehand,  the 
rest  w  hich  remains  for  the  people  of  God.  Your  great 
•age,  dear  sir,  and  my  great  weakness,  have  brought  us  to 
the  verge  of  eternity.  O,  may  we  exult  in  the  prospect, 
and  look  on  that  boundless  sea  through  the  glass  of  faith, 
and  through  the  clefts  of  the  Rock  of  ages,  struck  for 
us,  through  the  veil  of  Christ's  flesh,  who,  by  dying  for 
our  sins,  and  rising  again  for  our  justification,  is  become 
our  resurrection  and  our  life. 

"  One  of  my  parishioners  brought  a  horse  last  week 
to  carry  me  home  ;  and  desired  to  walk  by  my  side  all 
the  way.  By  the  advice  of  your  dear  son,  (Mr.  William 
Perronet.)  who  still  continues  to  bestow  upon  me  all  the 
help  I  could  expect  from  the  most  loving  brother,  I  sent 
the  man  back.  I  thank  God  I  am  a  little  stronger  than 
when  I  came  hither.  I  kiss  the  rod,  lean  on  the  staff, 
and  wait  the  end.  I  yesterday  saw  a  physician  who 
told  me  my  case  is  not  yet  an  absolutely  lost  case.  But 
the  prospect  of  languishing  two  or  three  years  longer, 
a  burden  to  every  body,  a  help  to  none,  would  be  very 
painful,  if  the  will  of  God  and  the  covenant  of  life  in 
Christ  Jesus  did  not  sanctify  all  circumstances,  and  dis- 
pel every  gloom.  I  remember  with  grateful  joy  the 
happy  days  I  spent  at  Shoreham  :  Tecum  vivere  amem; 
tecum  obeam  lubens.  ('  I  could  love  to  live  with  you ; 
with  you  I  would  willingly  die.')  But  what  is  better 
still,  i  shall  live  with  the  Lord  and  with  you  for  ever 
and  ever.    Your  obliged  servant  and  affectionate  son, 

"J.  F-w 


"206  tlFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


7.  Mr.  Fletcher  continued  at  Brislington  till  the  end 
of  summer,  by  which  time  it  evidently  appeared  that  the 
Hotwell  water,  and  the  other  means  which  had  been 
recommended  by  his  physicians,  and  tried  for  so  many 
months,  had  produced  little  or  no  good  effect.  It  was 
.then  concluded  that  nothing,  humanly  speaking,  could 
save  his  life,  but  a  sea  voyage  and  his  own  country  air. 
This,  as  was  observed  above,  had  been  recommended  by 
his  friend,  Mr.  Ireland,  with  the  advice  of  a  physician, 
the  preceding  year.  Then,  however,  he  could  not  be 
prevailed  upon  to  try  these  remedies.  But  now,  find- 
ing all  other  means  ineffectual,  he  consented,  and  that 
the  more  readily,  as  one  of  his  sisters  was  in  a  poor  state 
of  health,  and,  indeed,  apparently  dying,  in  Switzerland, 
and  he  ardently  wished  to  see  and  converse  with  her 
before  her  departure.  As  soon  as  a  voyage  to  the  con- 
tinent was  concluded  on,  he  wrote  as  follows  to  Mrs. 
Thornton  : — 

"  I  am  going  to  do  by  my  poor  sister  what  you  have 
done  by  me,  to  try  to  smooth  the  road  of  sickness  to  the 
chamber  of  death.  Gratitude  and  blood  call  me  to  it: — 
you  have  done  it  without  such  calls;  your  Christian 
kindness  is  freer  than  mine;  but  not  so  free  as  the  love 
of  Jesus,  who  took  upon  him  our  nature,  that  he  might 
bear  our  infirmities,  die  our  death,  and  make  over  to  us 
his  resurrection  and  his  life  after  ail  we  had  done  to 
render  life  hateful  and  death  horrible  to  him.  O  for 
this  matchless  love  let  rocks  and  hills,  let  hearts  and 
tongues  break  an  ungrateful  silence  ;  and  let  your  Chris- 
tian muse  find  new  anthems,  and  your  poetic  heart  new 
flights  of  eloquence  and  thankfulness  ! 

"  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  from  you  in  Switzerland,  and 
shall  doubly  rejoice  if  you  can  send  me  word  that  she, 
who  is  joined  to  the  Lord  according  to  the  glory  of  the 
new  covenant,  is  one  spirit  with  him,  and  enjoys  all  the 
glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God." 

8.  It  appears,  however,  that  shortly  after  this  he  be- 
came so  much  worse  as  to  have  great  reason  to  doubt 
whether  he  should  be  able  to  make  such  a  voyage. — 
"  You  should  have  heard  from  me,"  says  he  to  the  same 
person  a  few  weeks  afterward,  "  if  sometimes  want  of 
spirits  to  hold  a  pen,  and  for  some  days  want  of  paper, 
ihad  not  stood  in  the  way  of  my  inclination.    Now  I  have 


5.1FE  OF  REV.  I.  FLETCHER. 


207 


paper,  an  J  a  degree  of  strength,  how  can  I  employ  both 
tetter,  than  in  trying  to  fulfil  with  my  pen  the  great 
commandment,  which  contains  my  duty  to  God  and 
my  neighbour  !  But  what  can  a  pen  do  here  ? — It  can 
just  testify  what  my  heart  feels, — that  no  words  can 
describe  what  I  owe  to  my  heavenly  Benefactor,  to  my 
earthly  friends,  and  to  you,  in  particular,  wiio  have  had 
so  much  patience  as  to  stand  by  me,  and  bear  a  share 
in  my  burdens,  for  so  many  months,  at  home  and  abroad. 

"May  the  merciful,  faithful  God,  who  has  promised 
that  a  cup  of  cold  water  given  to  the  least  of  his  fol- 
lowers, shall  not  lose  its  reward  ; — may  that  omnipotent 
God  who  sees  you  in  all  the  states  of  weakness  which 
await  you  between  the  present  moment  and  the  hour  of 
death,  give  you  all  that  can  make  your  hfe  comfortable, 
your  trials  tolerable,  your  death  triumphant,  and  your 
eternity  glorious ! 

••  'What  I  ask  for  you,  I  also  peculiarly  beg  for  your 
dear  brother  and  sister,  who  have  vouchsafed  to  bind  so 
dry,  so  insignificant  (I  had  almost  said,  so  rotten)  a  stick 
as  myself  in  the  buinlle  of  that  Jove  with  which  they 
embrace  the  poor,  the  lame,  the  helpress,  the  loathsome, 
and  those  who  have  their  sores  without,  as  Lazarus,  or 
within,  as  I.  May  we  all  be  found  bound  up  together  in 
the  bundle  of  life,  light,  and  love,  with  our  Lord  !  And 
when  he  shall  make  up  his  jewels,  may  you  all  shine 
among  his  diamonds  of  the  finest  water  and  the  first 
.magnitude  ! 

"You  want,  possibly,  to  know  how  I  go  on.  Though 
I  am  not  worth  a  line,  I  shall  observe,  to  the  glory  of 
my  patient,  merciful  Preserver  and  Redeemer,  that  I 
am  kept  in  sweet  peace,  and  a  looking  for  the  tri- 
umphant joy  of  my  Lord,  and  for  the  fulness  expressed 
in  these  words,  which  sweetly  filled  the  sleepless  hour* 
,of  last  night, — 

'  Drawn, — and  redeem'd, — and  seal'd, 

I  bless  the  One  and  Three, 
With  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit  fill'd 
To. all  eternity.' 

"  "With  respect  to  my  body,  I  sleep  less,  and  spit  more 
Wood  than  I  did  when  you  were  here,  nor  can  I  bear 
the  least  trot  of  an  easy  horse.  If  this  continue  many 
•days,  instead  of  thinking  to  go  and  see  my  friends  on 


208 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


the  continent,  I  shall  turn  my  steps  to  my  earthly  home, 
to  be  ready  to  lay  my  bones  in  my  churchyard  ;  and  in 
such  a  case  I  shall  put  you  in  mind  of  your  kind  pro- 
mise, that  you  would  do  to  the  last  the  office  of  a  guar- 
dian angel, — hold  up  my  hands  in  my  last  conflict,  and 
close  my  eyes  when  it  is  over.  Two  of  my  parishioners 
came  to  convey  me  safe  home,  and  had  persuaded  me 
to  go  with  them  in  a  post  chaise ;  but  I  had  so  bad  a 
night  before  the  day  I  was  to  set  out,  that  I  gave  it  up. 
My  prospects  and  ways  are  shut  up,  so  that  I  have 
nothing  to  look  at  but  Jesus  and  the  grave.  May  I  so 
look  at  them  as  to  live  in  Him  who  is  my  resurrection 
and  life  ;  and  die  in  all  the  meekness  and  holiness  of 
my  Lord  and  my  all !  I  humbly  request  a  continued 
interest  in  your  fervent  prayers,  that  I  may  be  found 
completely  ready  when  my  Lord's  messenger  shall  come 
for  my  soul." 

9.  In  the  latter  end  of  October  he  found  himself  a  lit- 
tle restored,  as  appears  by  a  letter  written  from  Madeley 
on  the  21st  of  that  month,  and  addressed  to  Lady  Mary 
Fitzgerald  ;  in  which  he  says,  "I  have  taken  the  bark 
for  some  days,  and  it  seems  to  have  been  blessed  to  the 
removal  of  my  spitting  of  blood.  Time  will  decide 
whether  it  be  a  real  removal,  or  only  a  suspension  of 
that  symptom.  Either  will  prove  a  blessing,  as  His  will 
is  our  health.''  With  respect  to  his  intended  journey, 
he  observes  to  the  same  right  honourable  person  : — 
"  My  brothers  and  sisters  invite  me  to  breathe  once  more 
my  natal  air  ;  and  the  physicians  recommend  to  me  a 
journey  to  the  continent.  I  wait  for  the  last  intimations 
of  Providence  to  determine  me  to  go.  If  I  do,  I  shall 
probably  pass  through  London,  and  in  that  case  I  could 
have  the  honour  of  waiting  upon  you.  I  say  probably, 
because  I  shall  only  follow  my  friend,  and  a  serious 
family  which  goes  to  spend  the  winter  in  the  south  of 
France,  or  in  Spain ;  and  I  do  not  yet  know  whether 
they  design  to  embark  at  Dover,  or  at  some  port  in  the 
west  of  England. 

"  You  have  been  afflicted,"  he  farther  adds,  "  as  well 
as  myself.  May  our  maladies  yield  the  peaceable  fruits 
of  righteousness — complete  deadness  to  the  world,  and 
increased  faith  in  the  mercy,  love,  and  power  of  Him 
who  supports  under  the  greatest  trials,  and  can  make 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


209 


our  extremity  of  weakness  an  opportunity  of  displaying 
the  freeness  of  his  grace  and  the  greatness  of  his  power. 

Tell  Mrs.  G          and  Mrs.  L          that  I  salute  them 

under  the  cross  with  the  sympathy  of  a  companion  in 
tribulation  ;  and  rejoice  at  the  thought  of  doing  it  when 
the  cross  shall  be  exchanged  for  the  crown.  In  the 
meantime,  let  us  glory  in  the  cross  of  our  common 
Head,  and  firmly  believe  that  he  is  exalted  to  give  us 
whatever  is  best  for  us  in  life,  in  death,  and  for  ever." 

The  following  observations,  in  the  same  letter,  are 
also  well  worth  attention : — "  In  order  to  live  singly  to 
God,  the  best  method  is  to  desire  it  with  meekness  ;  to 
spread  the  desire  in  quietness  before  Him  who  inspired 
it;  to  offer  him  now  all  we  have  and  are,  as  we  can; 
and  to  enlarge  our  expectation,  that  he  may  satisfy  it 
with  good  things,  with  all  his  fulness,  or  that  he  may 
try  our  patience,  and  teach  us  to  know  our  total  help- 
lessness. With  respect  to  the  weeping  frame  of  repent- 
ance, and  the  joyous  one  of  faith,  they  are  both  good 
alternately  ;  but  the  latter  is  the  better  of  the  two,  be- 
cause it  enables  us  to  do  and  suffer  the  will  of  God,  and 
praise  him,  which  honours  Christ  more  ;  both  are  hap- 
pily mixed.  May  they  be  so  in  you,  madam,  and  in 
your  unworthy  and  obliged  servant,  J.  F." 

10.  It  was  by  the  advice  of  Mr.  "William  Perronet, 
who  had  been  so  kind  as  to  go  from  London  to  Bristol 
to  visit  him,  that  he  took  the  bark.  To  him  he  writes, 
November  19: — "May  the  Lord  visit  you  when  you 
shall  be  sick  !  and  may  he  raise  you  such  kind  friends, 
helpers,  and  comforters,  as  he  has  raised  to  me  !  I  have 
continued  to  take  the  bark  since  you  went,  and  it  seems 
to  have  been  blessed  to  me.  My  spitting  of  blood  is 
almost  stopped  ;  my  breast  stronger.  I  am,  I  hope, 
better,  upon  the  whole  ;  and  if  I  do  not  relapse,  I  may 
yet  be  able  to  preach,  according  to  your  dear  father's 
prophecy.  I  hope  to  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  and 
thanking  you,  sir,  and  Dr.  Turner,  in  my  way  to  Dover, 
some  time  the  week  after  next. 

"  O,  my  dear  friend,  Jesus  is  at  the  end  of  the  race. 
Your  dear  brothers*  have  run  it  out ;  we  follow  them. 

*  Messrs.  Vincent  and  Charles  Perronet,  and  some  others  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Perronet's  children,  who  had  died  in  great  peace  and 
triumph. 


210 


LIFE  OF  REV .  J.  FLETCHER. 


0  for  more  speed!  more  winged  despatch!  more  of 
that  power  that  takes  the  kingdom  of  heaven  by  vio- 
lence !  Thst  the  Lord  would  give  us  more  power,  and 
make  us  more;  faithful  in  the  use  of  that  which  we  have, 
is  the  earnest  prayer  of  your  obliged  friend,     J.  F." 

11.  The  time  of  setting  out  on  his  journey  to  the 
continent  being  bow  fixed,  he  judged  it  proper  .to  explain 
himself  more  fully  than  he  had  done,  to  some  of  his 
friends  at  Madeley,  and  withal  to  signify  his  mind  to 
them  respecting  some  temporal  affairs  depending  there. 
He  therefore  wrote  as  follows  to  Messrs.  Thomas  York 
and  Daniel  Edmonds,  who,  it  seems,  for  some  time, 
assisted  him  in  managing  the  secular  concerns  of  the 
vicarage. 

"  The  debt  of  gratitude  I  owe  to  a  dying  sister,  who 
once  took  a  very  long  journey  to  see  me,  when  I  was  ill 
in  Germany,  and  whom  I  just  stopped  from  coming,  last 
winter,  to  Newiugton  to  nurse  me;  the  unanimous  ad- 
vice of  the  physicians  whom  I  have  consulted,  and  the 
opportunity  of  travelling  with  serious  friend*,  have  at 
hist  determined  me  to  remove  to  a  warmer  climate.  As 
it  is  doubtful,  very  doubtful,  whether  I  shall  be  able  to 
stand  the  journey;  and  if  I  do,  whether  I  shall  be  able 
to  come  back  to  England  ;  and  if  I  come  bark,  whether 

1  shall  be  able  to  serve  my  Church,  it  is  right  to  make 
what  provision  I  can  to  have  it  properly  served  while  { 
live,  and  to  secure  some  spiritual  assistance  to  my  seri- 
ous parishioners  when  I  shall  be  no  more.  I  have  at- 
tempted to  build  a  house  in  Madeley  Wood,  about  -the 
centre  of  the  parish,  where  I  should  be  glad  the  chil- 
dren might  be  taught  to  read  and  write  in  the  day,  and 
the  grown  up  people  might  hear  the  word  of  God  in  the 
evening,  when  they  can  get  an  evangelist  to  preach  it 
to  them  ;  and  where  the  serious  people  might  assemble 
for  social  worship  when  they  have  ivo  teacher. 

"This  has  involved  me  in  some  difficulties  about  dis- 
charging the  expense  of  that  building,  and  paying  for 
the  ground  it  stands  upon  ;  especially  as  my  ill  health 
has  put  me  on  the  additional  expense  of  an  assistant.  If 
I  had  strength,  I  would  serve  my  Church  alone,  board 
as  cheap  as  I  could,  and  save  what  I  could  from  the  pro- 
duce of  the  living  to  clear  the  debt,  and  leave  that  little 
token  of  my  love  free  from  encumbrances  to  my  parish* 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


211 


ioners.  But  as  Providence  orders  things  otherwise,  I 
have  another  object,  which  is  to  secure  a  faithful  minis- 
ter to  serve  the  Church  while  I  live.  Providence  has 
sent  me  dear  Mr.  Greaves,  who  loves  the  people,  and  is 
loved  by  them.  I  should  be  glad  to  make  him  comfort* 
able  ;  and  as  all  the  care  of  the  llock,  by  my  illness, 
devolves  upon  him,  I  would  not  hesitate  for  a  moment 
to  let  him  have  all  the  profit  of  the  liv  ing,  if  it  were  not 
for  the  debt  contracted  about  the  room.  My  difficulty 
lies,  then,  between  what  I  owe  to  my  fellow  labourer, 
and  what  I  owe  to  my  parishioners,  whom  I  should  be 
sorry  to  have  burdened  with  a  debt  contracted  for  the 
room. 

"I  beg  you  will  let  me  know  how  the  balance  of  my 
account  stands,  that,  some  way  or  other,  I  may  order  it 
to  be  paid  immediately  ;  for  if  the  balance  is  against 
me,  I  could  not  leave  England  comfortably  without  hav- 
ing settled  the  payment.  A  letter  will  settle  this  busi- 
ness, as  well  as  if  twenty  friends  were  at  the  trouble  of 
taking  a  journey  ;  and  talking  is  far  worse  for  me  than 
reading  or  writing.  I  do  not  say  this  to  put  a  slight 
upon  my  dear  friends.  I  should  rejoice  to  see  them  if 
it  would  answer  any  end. 

"Ten  thousand  pardons  of  my  dear  friends  for  trou- 
bling them  with  this  scrawl  about  worldly  matters.  May 
God  help  us  all  so  to  settle  our  eternal  concerns  that 
when  we  shall  be  called  to  go  to  our  long  home  and 
heavenly  country,  we  may  be  ready,  and  have  our 
acquittance  along  with  us.  I  am  quite  tired  with  writ- 
ing; nevertheless,  I  cannot  lay  by  my  pen  without  de- 
siring my  best  Christian  love  to  all  my  dear  companions 
in  tribulation,  and  neighbours  in  Shropshire." 

To  another  friend  whom  he  had  been  also  obliged  to 
trouble  in  that  way,  his  words  are :— Pardon  the  trouble 
I  have  given  you  in  my  temporal  concerns  ;  it  is  more 
for  the  poor  and  the  Lord  than  for  me.  O,  my  dear 
friend,  let  us  pass  through  the  things  temporal  so  as  not 
to  lose  the  things  eternal.  Let  us  honour  God's  truth 
by  believing  his  word  ;  Christ's  blood  by  hoping  firmly 
in  Divine  mercy  ;  and  all  the  Divine  perfections  by  lov- 
ing God  with  all  our  hearts,  and  one  another  as  Christ 
loved  us.  My  kind  love  to  all  the  brethren  on  both  sides 
the  water,, 


212 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


"  Go  from  me  to  Mrs.  :  tell  her  I  charge  her,  in 

the  name  of  God,  to  give  up  the  world,  to  set  out  with 
all  speed  for  heaven,  and  to  join  the  few  that  fear  God 
about  her.  If  she  refuse,  call  weekly,  if  not  daily,  and 
warn  her  from  me.  Tell  the  brethren  at  Broseley  that 
I  did  my  body  an  injury  the  last  time  I  preached  to  thenr 
on  the  green  ;  but  I  do  not  repine  at  it  if  they  took  the 
warning,  and  have  ceased  to  be  neither  hot  nor  cold, 
and  begin  to  be  warm  in  zeal,  love,  prayer,  and  every 

grace.    Give  my  love  to  ,  tell  him  to  make  haste  to 

Christ,  and  not  to  doze  away  his  last  days. 

"The  physician  has  not  yet  given  me  up  ;  but  I  bless 
God,  I  do  not  wait  for  his  farewell  to  give  myself  up  to 
my  God  and  Saviour.  I  write  by  stealth,  as  my  friends 
here  would  have  me  forbear  writing,  and  even  talking; 
but  I  will  never  part  with  my  privilege  of  writing  and 
shouting  thanks  be  to  God  who  giveth  us  the  victory 
over  sin,  death,  and  the  grave,  through  Jesus  Christ  t 
To  him  be  glory  for  ever  and  ever." 

12.  The  above  letters  manifest,  in  a  striking  light,  his 
gratitude  to  his  benefactors,  and  his  great  love  to  his 
parishioners,  and  concern  for  their  salvation.  But  the 
latter  is  discovered  still  more  in  the  following  pastoral 
address  to  them,  written  a  few  days  before  he  left  Bristol. 

"To  the  brethren  who  hear  the  word  of  God  in  the 
parish  church  of  Madelcy. 

"  My  Dear  Brethren, — I  thank  you  for  the  declara- 
tion of  your  affectionate  remembrance  which  you  have 

sent  me  by  ,  the  messenger  of  your  brotherly  love. 

As  a  variety  of  reasons,  with*  which  I  shall  not  trouble 
you,  prevent  my  coming  to  take  my  leave  of  you  in  per- 
son, permit  me  to  do  it  by  letter.  The  hopes  of  recover- 
ing a  little  strength  to  come  and  serve  you  again  in  the 
Gospel,  make  me  take  the  advice  of  the  physicians,  who 
say  that  removing  to  a  drier  air  and  warmer  climate 
might  be  of  great  service  to  my  health.  I  kiss  the  rod 
which  smites  me.  I  adore  the  Providence  which  lays 
me  aside ;  and  beg  that  by  this  long  correction  of  my 
heavenly  Father,  I  may  be  so  pruned  as  to  bring  forth 
more  fruit,  if  I  am  spared. 

"  I  am  more  and  more  persuaded  that  I  have  not  de- 
clared unto  you  cunningly  devised  fables,  and  that  the 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


213 


Gospel  I  have  had  the  honour  of  preaching,  though 
feebly,  among  you  is  the  power  of  God  to  salvation  to 
every  one  who  believes  it  with  the  heart.  God  grant 
we  may  all  be  of  that  happy  number!  Want  of  time 
does  not  permit  me  to  give  you  more  directions  ;  but  if 
you  follow  those  which  fill  the  rest  of  this  page,  they 
may  supply  the  want  of  a  thousand.  Have  every  day 
lower  thoughts  of  yourselves,  higher  thoughts  of  Christ, 
kinder  thoughts  of  your  brethren,  and  more  hopeful 
thoughts  of  all  around  you.  Love  to  assemble  in  the 
great  congregation,  and  with  your  companions  in  tribu- 
lation ;  but  above  all,  love  to  pray  to  your  Father  in 
secret:  to  consider  your  Saviour,  who  says,  Look  unto 
me  and  be  saved ;  and  to  listen  for  your  Sanctifier  and 
Comforter,  who  whispers  that  he  stands  at  the  door,  and 
knocks  to  enter  into  your  inmost  souls,  and  to  set  up  his 
kingdom  of  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy,  with  Divine 
power,  in  your  willing  breasts.  Wait  all  the  day  long 
for  his  glorious  appearing  within  you;  and,  when  you 
are  together,  by  suitable  prayers,  proper  hymns,  and 
enlivening  exhortations,  keep  up  your  earnest  expect- 
ation of  his  pardoning  and  sanctifying  love.  Let  not  a 
drop  satisfy  you ;  desire  an  ocean,  at  least  a  fountain 
springing  up  to  your  comfort  in  your  own  souls,  and 
flowing  toward  all  around  you,  in  streams  of  love  and 
delightful  instructions,  to  the  consolation  of  those  with 
whom  you  converse  ;  especially  your  brethren  and  those 
of  your  own  households.  Do  not  eat  your  morsel  by 
yourselves,  like  selfish,  niggardly  people  ;  but  whether 
you  eat  the  meat  that  perisheth,  or  that  which  endureth 
unto  everlasting  life,  be  ready  to  share  it  with  all.  Cast 
your  bread  upon  the  waters,  in  a  temporal  or  spiritual 
sense,  and  it  will  not  be  lost.  God  will  bless  your  seed 
sown,  and  it  will  abundantly  increase.  Let  every  one 
with  whom  you  converse  be  the  better  for  your  conver- 
sation. Be  burning  and  shining  lights  wherever  you 
are.  Set  the  fire  of  Divine  love  to  the  hellish  stubble 
of  sin.  Be  valiant  for  the  truth.  Be  champions  for 
love.  Be  sons  of  thunder  against  sin  ;  and  sons  of  con- 
solation toward  humbled  sinners.  Be  faithful  to  your 
God,  your  king,  and  your  masters.  Let  not  the  good 
ways  of  God  be  blasphemed  through  any  of  you.  Let 
your  heavenly  mindedness  and  your  brotherly  kindness 


214 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


be  known  to  all  men  !  so  that  all  who  see  you  may  won- 
der and  say,  See  how  these  people  love  one  another  ! 

"  You  have  need  of  patience  as  well  as  of  faith  and 
power.  You  must  learn  to  suffer,  as  well  as  to  do  the 
will  of  God.  Do  not,  then,  think  it  strange  to  pass 
through  fiery  trials ;  they  are  excellent  for  the  proving, 
purifying,  and  strengthening  of  your  faith:  only  let 
your  faith  he  firm  in  a  tempest.  Let  your  hope  in  Christ 
be  as  a  sure  anchor  cast  within  the  veil ;  and  your  pa- 
tient love  will  soon  outride  the  storm,  and  make  you 
find  there  is  a  peace  in  Christ  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost 
which  no  man  can  give  or  take  away.  May  that  peace 
be  abundantly  given  to  you  from  our  common  Father, 
our  common  Redeemer,  and  our  common  Sanctifier,  our 
covenant  God,  whom  we  have  so  often  vouched  to  be 
our  God  and  our  all,  when  we  have  been  assembled  to- 
gether in  his  name. 

"  I  leave  this  blessed  island  for  a  while ;  but  I  trust  I 
shall  never  leave  the  kingdom  of  God,  the  Mount  Sion, 
the  New  Jerusalem,  the  shadow  of  Christ's  cross,  the 
clefts  of  the  rock  smitten  and  pierced  for  us.  There  I 
entreat  you  to  meet  me.  There  I  meet  you  in  spirit. 
From  thence,  I  trust,  I  shall  joyfully  leap  into  the  ocean 
of  eternity,  to  go  and  join  those  ministering  spirits  who 
wait  on  the  heirs  of  salvation  :  and  if  I  am  no  more  per- 
mitted to  minister  to  you  in  the  land  of  the  living,  I  re- 
joice at  the  thought,  that  I  shall,  perhaps,  be  allowed  to 
accompany  the  angels  who,  if  you  continue  in  the  faith, 
will  be  commissioned  to  carry  your  souls  into  Abraham's 
bosom.  If  our  bodies  do  not  moulder  away  in  the  same 
grave,  our  spirit  shall  be  sweetly  lost  in  the  same  sea  of 
Divine  and  brotherly  love.  I  hope  to  see  you  again  in 
the  flesh  ;  but  my  sweetest  and  firmest  hope  is  to  meet 
you  where  there  are  no  parting  seas,  no  interposing 
mountains,  no  sickness,  no  death,  no  fear  of  loving  too 
much,  no  shame  for  loving  too  little,  no  apprehension 
of  bursting  new  vessels  in  our  lungs,  by  indulging  the 
joy  of  seeing,  or  the  sorrow  of  leaving  our  brethren. 

"In  the  meantime  I  earnestly  recommend  you  to  the 
pastoral  care  of  the  great  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  souls, 
and  to  the  brotherly  care  of  one  another,  as  well  as  to 
the  ministerial  care  of  my  substitute.  The  authority  of 
love  which  you  allowed  me  to  exert  among  you  for  edifi- 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


cation,  I  return  to  you  and  divide  among  you  ;  humbly 
requesting  that  you  would  mutually  use  it  in  warning 
the  unruly,  supporting  the  weak,  and  comforting  all* 
Should  I  be  spared  to  come  back,  let  me  have  the  joy 
of  finding  you  all  of  one  heart  and  one  30ul ;  continu- 
ing steadfast  in  the  apostle's  doctrine,  in  fellowship  one 
with  another,  and  in  communion  with  our  sin-pardoning 
and  sin-abhorring  God.  This  you  may  do,  through 
grace,  by  strongly  believing  in  the  atoning  blood  and 
sanctifying  Spirit  of  Christ,  our  common  head  and  ouf 
common  life;  in  whom  my  soul  embraces  you,  and  in 
whose  gracious  hands  I  leave  both  you  and  myself. 
Bear  me  on  your  hearts  before  him  in  praying  love  ;  and 
be  persuaded  that  you  are  thus  borne  by,  my  dear  bre- 
thren, yours,  &c,  J.  F." 

13.  Sir.  Fletcher  did  not  leave  Brislington  till  about 
the  beginning  of  December,  when  he  set  out  for  the  south 
of  France,  in  company  with  Mr.  Ireland,  two  of  his 
daughters,  and  another  family.  While  at  Heading,  on 
his  way,  he  wrote  as  follows,  to  his  friend  and  father  in 
Christ,  the  Rev.  vicar  of  Shoreham  : — 

"  Reading,  Dec.  2,  1  ??7. 
"Honoured  and  Dear  Sir, — I  acknowledge,  though 
late,  the  favour  of  your  letter.  I  have  given  up  the 
thought  of  going  to  my  parish,  and  am  now  on  the  road 
to  a  warmer  climate.  The  Lord,  if  it  seem  him  good, 
may  bless  as  much  the  change  of  air,  as  he  has  blessed 
the  last  remedy  your  son  prescribed  for  me  ;  I  mean  the 
bark.  If  I  should  mend  a  little,  I  would  begin  to  have 
faith  in  your  prophecy.  In  the  meantime  let  us  have 
faith  in  Christ,  more  faith  day  by  day  ;  till  all  the  say- 
ings of  Christ  are  verified  to  us  and  in  us.  Should  I  go 
to  Geneva,  I  shall  inquire  after  the  Swiss  friends  of  my 
dear  benefactors  at  Shoreham,  to  whose  pravcrs  1  hum- 
bly recommend  myself  and  my  dear  fellow  tiavellers, 
one  of  whom,  my  little  goddaughter,  is  but  eight  weeks 
old.  May  God  abundantly  bless  you  and  yours,  and 
reward  you  for  all  the  kindness  shown  to,  honoured  and 
dear  sir,  your  obliged  and  obedient  son  in  the  Gospel, 

"J.  F." 

On  the  same  sheet  he  wrote  as  follows  to  Miss  Per- 
ronet : — 

"My  Dear  Friend, — I  snatch  a  moment  upon  the 


216 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


road,  to  acknowledge  the  favour  of  your  letter,  and  to 
wish  you  joy  in  seeing  the  Lord  is  faithful  in  rewarding 
as  well  as  punishing.  I  once  met  a  gentleman,  an  infidel, 
abroad,  who  said,  '  Men  have  no  faith :  if  they  believed 
that  by  forsaking  houses,  lands,  friends,  &c,  they  should 
receive  a  hundredfold,  they  would  instantly  renounce 
all.  For  who  would  not  carry  all  his  money  to  the  bank 
of  heaven  to  receive  a  hundredfold  interest?'  The  papists 
have  made  so  bad  a  use  of  the  rewardableness  of  works, 
that  we  dare  neither  preach  it  nor  hold  it  in  a  scriptural 
manner.  For  my  part,  I  think  that  if  it  were  properly 
received,  it  would  make  a  great  alteration  in  the  profess- 
ing world.  You  dare  receive  it ;  try  the  mighty  use  of 
it ;  and  when  you  have  fully  experienced  it,  do  not  keep 
your  light  to  yourself,  but  impart  it  to  all  within  the 
reach  of  your  tongue  and  pen.  I  am  glad  you  see  that, 
after  all,  every  reward  bestowed  upon  a  reprieved  sinner 
has  free  grace  for  its  foundation,  and  the  blood  of  Christ 
for  its  mark.  May  the  richest  rewards  of  Divine  grace 
be  yours  in  consequence  of  the  most  exalted  faithful- 
ness ;  and  let  me  beseech  you  to  pray  that  I  may  follow 
you,  as  you  follow  Christ,  till  our  reward  be  full.  That 
God  may  fill  you  with  all  his  fulness,  is  the  wish  of,  my 
dear  friend,  your  obliged  brother,  J.  F." 

14.  When  they  arrived  at  Dover,  the  wind,  though 
fair,  was  too  high  to  admit  of  their  venturing  out  to  sea 
immediately.  And  I  know  not  whether  I  ought  to  im- 
pute it  to  his  great  care  to  make  the  most  of  time,  and 
snatch  every  moment  of  it  for  doing  good,  or  to  his  great 
love  to  his  people  that  he  would  not  let  this  short  oppor- 
tunity pass  without  dropping  a  few  more  lines  to  the 
pious  of  his  flock.  To  them  he  writes : — "  By  the  help 
of  Divine  Providence,  and  of  your  prayers,  I  have  got 
safe  to  Dover  ;  and  I  find  that  the  journey  has,  so  far, 
been  of  service  to  me.  I  thought  to  have  been  in  France 
by  this  time ;  but  the  wind  being  high,  though  favour- 
able, the  mariners  were  afraid  to  leave  the  safe  harbour, 
lest  the)'  should  be  driven  on  the  French  cliffs  too 
fiercely.  This  delay  gives  me  an  opportunity  of  writing 
a  line  to  tell  you  that  I  shall  bear  you  on  my  heart  by 
sea  and  land  ;  that  the  earth  is  the  Lord's  with  all  the 
fulness  thereof;  that  Jesus  lives  to  pray  for  us ;  and 
that  I  still  recommend  myself  to  your  prayers,  hoping 


LIFE  OF  REV.  1.  FLETCHER. 


217 


to  hear  of  your  order,  steadfastness,  and  growth  of  faith 
toward  Christ,  and  of  love  toward  each  other,  which 
will  greatly  revive  your  alfectionate  friend  and  brother, 

"J.  F." 

lie  also  wrote  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Greenwood,  before 
they  set  sail,  as  follows  : — 

'•Ten  thousand  blessings  light  upon  the  heads  and 
hearts  of  my  dear  benefactors,  Charles  and  Mary  Green- 
wood !  May  their  quiet  retreat  at  Newington  become  a 
bethel  to  them  !  May  their  offspring  be  born  again  there, 
And  may  the  choicest  consolations  ot  the  Spirit  visit 
their  minds,  whenever  they  retire  thither  from  the  busy 
city  !  Their  poor  pensioner  travels  on,  though  slowly, 
toward  the  grave.  His  journey  to  the  sea  seems  to  him  to 
have  hastened,  rather  than  retarded,  his  progress,  to  his 
old  mother,  earth.  May  every  providential  blast  blow 
him  nearer  to  the  heavenly  haven  of  his  Saviour's  breast ; 
where  he  hopes,  one  day,  to  meet  all  his  benefactors, 
and  among  them,  those  whom  he  now  addresses.  O 
my  dear  friends,  what  shall  I  render?  What  to  Jesus? 
What  to  you  I  May  He  who  invites  the  heavy  laden, 
take  upon  him  all  rhe  burdens  of  kindness  you  have  heap- 
ed upon  your  Lazarus  !  And  may  angels,  when  you  die, 
find  me  in  Abraham's  bosom,  and  bring  you  into  mine, 
that  by  all  the  kindness  which  may  be  shown  in  heaven, 
I  may  try  to  requite  that  you  have  shown  to  your  obliged 
brother,  J.  F." 

15.  On  what  day  they  sailed  does  not  appear.  But  it 
seems  they  were  not  many  hours  in  reaching  Calais; 
and  according  to  a  short  account  of  the  former  part  of 
their  journey,  given  by  Mr.  Ireland,  in  a  letter  to  a 
friend,  they  left  that  place  Dec.  12.  "  The  north  wind," 
says  he,  "  was  very  high,  and  penetrated  us  even  in  the 
chaise.  We  put  up  at  Rreteuil,  and  the  next  day  got  to 
Abbeville;  whence  we  were  forced,  by  the  miserable 
accommodations  we  met  with,  to  set  out,  though  it  was 
Sunday.  Mr.  Fletcher  and  I  used  to  lead  the  way  :  but 
now  the  other  chaises  got  before  us.  Nine  miles  from 
Abbeville,  our  axletree  srave  way  through  the  hard  frost, 
and  we  were  both  left  to  the  piercing  cold,  on  the  side 
of  a  hill,  without  any  shelter.  After  waiting  an  hour 
and  a  half  we  sent  the  axletree  and  wheels  back  to  be 
repaired  ;  and  leaving  the  body  of  the  chaise  under  a 
10 


218 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


guard,  procured  another  to  carry  us  to  the  next  town. 
On  the  15th,  our  chaise  arrived  in  good  repair.  Travel- 
ling steadily  forward  (though  the  country  was  all  covered 
with  snow)  on  the  27th  we  reached  Dijon.  During  the 
whole  journey,  Mr.  Fletcher  showed  visible  marks  of  a 
recovery.  He  bore  both  the  fatigue  and  piercing  cold 
as  well  as  the  best  of  us.  On  the  31st  we  put  up  at 
Lyons,  and  solemnly  closed  the  year,  bowing  our  knees 
before  the  throne,  which  indeed  we  did  not  fail  to  do  all 
together,  every  day.  January  4,  1778,  we  left  Lyons, 
and  came  on  the  9th  to  Aix.  Here  we  re"st :  the  weather 
being  exceeding  fine  and  warm,  Mr.  Fletcher  walks  out 
daily.  He  is  now  able  to  read  and  to  pray  with  us  every 
morning  and  evening.  He  has  no  remains  of  his  cough, 
nor  of  the  weakness  in  his  breast.  His  natural  colour 
is  restored,  and  the  sallowness  quite  gone.  His  appetite 
is  good,  and  he  takes  a  little  wine." 

16.  In  another  letter  Mr.  Ireland  writes  thus  : — "  Soon 
after  out  arrival  here,  I  rode  out  most  days  with  my  dear 
and  valuable  friend.  He  now  and  then  complained  of 
the  uneasiness  of  the  horse,  and  there  were  some  re- 
mains of  soreness  in  his  breast.  But' this  soon  went  off. 
The  beginning  of  February  was  warm,  and  the  warmth, 
when  he  walked  in  the  fields,  relaxed  him  too  much. 
But  when  the  wind  got  north  or  east  he  was  braced 
again.  His  appetite  is  good :  his  complexion  as  healthy 
as  it  was  eleven  years  ago.  As  his  strength  increases 
he  increases  the  length  of  his  rides.  Last  Tuesday  he 
set  out  on  a  journey  of  a  hundred  and  twelve  miles. 
The  first  day  he  travelled  forty  miles  without  feeling 
any  fatigue.  The  third  day  he  travelled  fifty-five  r  he 
bore  his  journey  as  well  as  I  did  ;  and  was  as  well  and  as 
active  at  the  end  of  it  as  at  the  beginning.  During  the 
day  he  cried  out,  'Help  me  to  praise  the  Lord  for  his 
goodness :  I  never  expected  to  see  this  day.'  He  now 
accepted  a  pressing  invitation  to  preach  to  the  Protest- 
ants here.  He  did  so  on  Sunday  morning  on  these 
words :  Examine  yourselves,  whether  ye  he  in  the  faith. 
For  some  days  before,  he  was  afraid  he  had  done  wrong 
in  accepting  the  invitation.  But,  O,  how  shall  I  be 
able  to  express  the  power  and  liberty  which  the  Lord 
gave  him  !  Both  the  French  and  English  were  greatly 
affected  :  the  word  went  to  the  hearts  both  of  saints  and 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


219 


sinners.  If  the  Lord  continue  his  strength  and  voice 
(w  hich  is  now  as  good  as  ever  it  was)  he  has  an  earnest 
invitation  10  preach  where  we  are  going,  near  Montpe- 
licr.  You  would  be  astonished  at  the  entreaties  of  pas- 
tors as  well  as  people.  He  has  received  a  letter  from  a 
minister  in  the  Levine  mountains,  who  intends  to  come 
to  Klontpelier,  sixty  miles,  to  press  him  to  go  and  preach 
to  his  flock.  He  purposes  to  spend  the  next  summer  in 
his  own  country,  and  the  following  winter  in  these  parts, 
or  in  some  part  of  the  south  of  France." 

17.  According  to  Mr.  Wesley: — "When  he  had  a 
little  recovered  his  strength"  (but  whether  at  this  time 
or  afterward,  during  his  stay  on  the  continent,  is  very 
doubtful)  "he  made  a  tour  though  Italy,  and  paid  a 
visit  to  Rome.  While  he  was  here,  as  Mr.  Ireland  and 
he  were  one  day  going  through  one  of  the  streets  in  a 
coach,  they  were  informed  'the  pope  was  coming  for- 
ward, and  it  would  be  required  of  them  to  come  out  of 
the  coach  and  kneel  while  he  went  by,  as  all  the  people 
did  ;  if  they  did  not,  in  all  probability  the  zealous  mob 
would  fall  upon  them,  and  knock  them  on  the  head.' 
But  this,  whatever  might  be  the  consequence,  they  flatly 
refused  to  do  ;  judging  the  paying  such  honour  to  a  man 
was  neither  better  nor  worse  than  idolatry.  The  coach- 
man was  exceedingly  terrified,  not  knowing  what  to  do. 
However,  at  length  he  made  a  shift  to  turn  aside  into  a 
narrow  way.  The  pope  was  in  an  open  landau.  He 
waved  his  hands  as  if  he  had  been  swimming  ;  and  fre- 
quently repeated  these  words,  '  God  bless  you  all !'  Mr. 
Fletcher's  spirit  was  greatly  stirred,  and  he  longed  to 
bear  a  public  testimony  against  antichrist.  And  he  would 
undoubtedly  have  done  it  had  he  been  able  to  speak 
Italian.  He  could  hardly  refrain  from  doing  it  in  Latin, 
till  he  considered  that  only  the  priests  could  have  under- 
stood him.  One  to  whom  he  related  this,  saying,  '  If  you 
had  done  this  the  multitude  would  have  torn  you  in  pieces :' 
he  answered,  I  believe  the  pope  himself  would  have  pre- 
vented it;  for  he  was  a  man  of  sense  and  humanity." 

18.  While  he  was  in  the  south  of  France,  probably  at 
Marseilles  or  Aix,  and  some  time  in  the  beginning  of  the 
spring,  he  wrote  as  follows  to  his  curate,  Mr.  Greaves. 
As  the  letter  is  without  date,  the  circumstances  of  time 
and  place  are  rather  uncertain : — 


220 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


"My  Very  Dear  Brother, — I  am  in  daily  expect- 
ation of  a  line  from  you,  to  let  me  know  how  you  do, 
and  how  it  goes  with  our  dear  flock  ;  but  I  doubt  whether 
I  shall  stay  long  enough  here  to  receive  your  letter.  I 
received  one  yesterday  from  my  second  brother,  who 
acquaints  me  that  he  was  to  set  out  the  23d  of  last  month, 
to  come  hither  and  take  me  to  my  native  country,  where 
my  sick  sister  wants  greatly  to  see  me.  If  no  aecident 
has  befallen  him  by  the  way,  I  think  he  will  be  here  the 
latter  end  of  this  week,  or  the  beginning  of  next;  so 
that,  please  God,  I  shall  set  out  next  week  from  this- 
place,  where  the  winter  has  been  uncommonly  rainy  and 
windy.  We  had  even  half  an  inch  of  snow  last  week, 
but  it  was  gone  long  before  noon.  The  climate  has, 
nevertheless,  agreed  with  me  better  than  England,  and 
as  a  proof  of  it  I  need  only  tell  you  that  I  rode  last  Fri- 
day from  Ilieres,  the  orange  gardens  of  France,  hither, 
which  is  near  fifty  miles,  and  was  well  enough  to  preach 
last  Sunday  in  French,  at  the  Protestant  chapel.  Two 
English  clergymen  came  to  hear  me  there,  and  one  of 
them  takes  these  lines  to  England,  where  I  hope  they 
will  find  you  in  health  of  body  and  soul,  growing  in 
strength  of  faith,  in  firmness  of  hope,  and  fervency  of 
love  to  God  and  man,  and  especially  to  those  whom  you 
arc  tempted  to  think  hardly  of,  if  any  such  there  be. 
O,  my  dear  brother,  no  religion  will,  in  the  etui,  do  us 
and  our  people  any  good,  but  that  which  'works  by 
love,' — humble,  childlike,  obedient  love.  May  that  re- 
ligion fill  our  souls,  and  influence  all  our  tempers,  words, 
and  actions,  and  may  the  leaven  leaven  the. whole  lump: 
may  St.  James'  peaceable  religion  spread  through  all 
our  parish.  Please,  at  the  first  convenient  opportunity, 
to  read  the  following  note  in  the  church : — 

"  John  Fletcher  sends  his  best  Christian  love  to  the 
congregation  that  worships  God  in  the  parish  church  at 
Madcley :  he  begs  the  continuance  of  their  prayers  for 
strength  of  body  and  mind,  that  he  may  be  able  (if  it  be 
the  will  of  God)  to  serve  them  again  in  the  Gospel.  He 
desires  them  to  return  almighty  God  thanks  for  having 
enabled  him  to  speak  again  in  public  last  Sunday,  with- 
out having  had  a  return  of  his  spitting  of  blood,  which 
he  considers  as  a  token  that  his  life  may  be  spared  a 
little,  to  go  and  exhort  them  to  grow  in  grace,  in  the 


LIFF  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


221 


knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  brotherly 
love,  the  best  marks  that  we  know  God,  and  are  in  the 
faith  of  Christ. 

"  I  hope,  my  dear  brother,  you  are  settled  to  your 
satisfaction,  and  I  shall  be  glad  to  do  what  is  in  my  power 
to  make  your  stay  at  Madeley  agreeable.  I  hope  you 
read  sometimes,  in  the  study,  the  copy  of  the  exhortation 
given  us  by  the  ordinary,  in  which  are  these  awful  words : 
'Cease  not  from  your  labour,  care,  and  diligence,  till  all 
those  who  are  committed  to  your  charge  come  to  such 
a  ripeness  of  age  in  Christ  that  there  be  no  room  left 
among  them  for  error  in  doctrine  or  viciousness  in  life.' 
I  wish  you  may  have  as  much  success  as  we  desire;  but 
whatever  success  we  have,  we  must  cast  our  bread  upon 
the  Haters,  though  we  should  see  as  little  fruit  as  he 
that  said  of  old,  'I  have  laboured  in  vain  :'  for  our  re- 
ward will  be  with  the  Lord,  if  uot  with  men." 

Soon  after  his  brother  conducted  him  from  Montpelier 
to  Nyon.  the  place  of  his  nativity.  Here  he  lived  in  that 
which  was  his  father's  house,  in  the  inidst  of  his  affec- 
tionate relations,  who  took  care  that  he  should  neither 
want  the  best  advice,  perhaps  equal  to  any  in  Europe, 
nor  any  thing  that  could  possibly  contribute  to  the  full 
recovery  of  his  health. 

19.  In  a  letter  from  thence  to  Mr.  William  Perronet, 
May  15.  he  observes  : — "  The  climate,  and  prospect,  and 
line  roads,  and  pure  air  I  enjoy  here,  had  contributed  to 
strengthen  me  a  little,  when  an  accident  I  think  has 
pulled  me  back.  About  a  month  ago,  something  I  was 
chewing  got  into  my  windpipe,  and  caused  a  fit  of  cough- 
ing, with  the  greatest  efTorts  of  the  lungs  for  half  an  hour. 
I  then  began  to  spit  blood  again,  and  ever  since  I  have 
had  a  bad  cough,  which  has  sometimes  exercised  me 
violently  for  an  hour  after  my  first  sleep.  My  cough, 
however,  has  been  better  again  these  two  days,  and  I 
hope  it  will  go  off.  I  have  bought  a  quiet  horse,  whose 
easy  pace  I  can  bear,  and  I  ride  much.  Upon  the  whole, 
if  my  cough  leave  me  I  may  yet  recover  my  strength  : 
but  if  it  fix,  it  will  probably  be  my  last.  The  will  of  the 
Lord  be  done!  I  have  not  ventured  upon  preaching 
since  I  came  hither.  It  would  be  impossible  for  me  now 
to  go  through  it.  If  the  weather  should  grow  hot,  I 
may  at  any  time  go  to  the  hills,  the  foot  of  which  is  but 


222 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


five  or  six  miles  distant.  I  drink  goats'  milk,  and  have 
left  off  meat  since  the  cough  came  on,  but  design  eating 
a  little  again  at  dinner." 

20.  It  appears  that  Mr.  Ireland  either  accompanied 
him  to  Nyon,  in  Switzerland,  along  with  his  brother,  or 
afterward  met  him  at  Macon,  in  Burgundy,  where  Mr. 
Fletcher  was  on  the  17th  of  this  same  month,  and  from 
whence  he  wrote  to  the  Rev.  John  and  Charles  Wesley, 
and  gave  a  farther  account  of  the  state  of  his  health,  and 
of  the  declension  of  religion,  and  the  prevalence  of  infi- 
delity in  France.  His  letter  is  peculiarly  worthy  of  a 
place  in  the  memoirs  of  his  life,  as  containing,  may  I 
not  say,  an  evident  prediction  of  events  which  have  since 
taken  place  ?  It  is  as  follows  : — 

"  Rev.  and  Dear  Sirs, — I  hope  that  while  I  lie  by, 
like  a  broken  vessel,  the  Lord  continues  to  renew  your 
vigour,  and  sends  you  to  water  his  vineyard,  and  to  stand 
in  the  gap  against  error  and  vice.  I  have  recovered 
some  strength,  blessed  be  God,  since  I  came  to  the  con- 
tinent ;  but  have  lately  had  another  attack  of  my  old 
complaints.  However,  I  find  myself  better  again,  though 
I  think  it  yet  advisable  not  to  speak  in  public. 

"  I  preached  twice  at  Marseilles,  but  was  not  permitted 
to  follow  the  blow.  There  are  few  noble,  inquisitive 
Bereans  in  these  parts.  The  ministers  in  the  town  of 
my  nativity  have  been  very  civil.  They  have  offered 
me  the  pulpit ;  but  I  fear,  if  I  could  accept  the  offer,  it 
would  be  soon  recalled.  I  am  loath  to  quit  this  part  of 
the  field  without  casting  a  stone  at  that  giant,  sin,  who 
stalks  about  with  uncommon  boldness.  I  shall,  there- 
fore, stay  some  months  longer,  to  see  if  the  Lord  will 
please  to  give  me  a  little  more  strength  to  venture  an 
attack. 

"Gaming  and  dress,  sinful  pleasure  and  love  of 
money,  unbelief  and  false  philosophy,  lightness  of  spirit, 
fear  of  man,  and  love  of  the  world,  are  the  principal 
sins  by  which  Satan  binds  his  captives  in  these  parts. 
Materialism  is  not  rare ;  Deism  and  Socinianism  are  very 
common ;  and  a  set  of  freethinkers,  great  admirers  of 
Voltaire  and  Rousseau,  Bayle  and  Mirabeau,  seem  bent 
upon  destroying  Christianity  and  government.  *  With 
one  hand  (said  a  lawyer,  who  has  written  something 
against  them)  they  shake  the  throne,  and  with  the  other 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


223 


they  throw  down  the  altars.'  If  we  believe  them,  the 
world  is  the  dupe  of  kings  and  priests.  Religion  is 
fanaticism  and  superstition.  Subordination  is  slavery 
and  tyranny.  Christian  morality  is  absurd,  unnatural, 
and  impracticable;  and  Christianity  the  most  bloody 
religion  that  ever  was.  And  here,  it  is  certain,  that  by 
the  example  of  Christians,  so  called,  and  by  our  conti- 
nual disputes,  they  have  a  great  advantage,  and  do  the 
truth  immense  mischief.  Popery  will  certainly  fall  in 
France,  in  this  or  the  next  century ;  and  I  make  no 
doubt,  God  will  use  these  vain  men  to  bring  about  a 
reformation  here,  as  he  used  Henry  VIII.  to  do  that  work 
in  England  :  so  the  madness  of  his  enemies  shall,  at 
last,  turn  to  his  praise,  and  to  the  fartherance  of  his 
kingdom. 

"  In  the  meantime  it  becomes  all  lovers  of  the  truth 
to  make  their  heavenly  tempers,  and  humble,  peaceful 
love,  to  shine  before  all  men,  that  those  mighty  adver- 
saries, seeing  the  good  works  of  professors,  may  glorify 
their  Father  who  is  in  heaven,  and  no  more  blaspheme 
that  worthy  name  by  which  we  are  called  Christians  1 

"  If  you  ask  what  system  these  men  adopt  ?  I  answer, 
that  some  build  on  Deism  a  morality  founded  on  self- 
preservation,  self-interest,  and  self-honour.  Others 
laugh  at  all  morality,  except  that  the  neglect  of  which 
violently  disturbs  society;  and  external  order  is  the 
tlecewt  covering  of  Fatalism,  while  Materialism  is  their 
system. 

"  O,  dear  sirs,  let  me  entreat  you,  in  these  dangerous 
days,  to  use  your  wide  influence,  with  unabated  zeal, 
against  the  scheme  of  these  modern  Celsuses,  Porphyries, 
and  Julians  ;  by  calling  all  professors  to  think  and  speak 
the  same  things,  to  love  and  embrace  one  another,  and 
to  stand  firmly  embodied  to  resist  those  daring  men; 
many  of  whom  are  already  in  England,  headed  by  the 
admirers  of  Mr.  Hume  and  Mr.  Hobbes.  But  it  is  need- 
less to  say  this  to  those  who  have  made,  and  continue 
to  make  such  a  stand  for  vital  Christianity;  so  that  I 
have  nothing  to  do  but  pray  that  the  Lord  would  abun- 
dantly support  and  strengthen  you  to  the  last,  and  make 
you  a  continued  comfort  to  his  enlightened  people,  lov- 
ing reprovers  of  those  who  might  mix  light  and  dark- 
ness, and  a  terror  to  the  perverse ;   and  this  is  the  cor* 


224 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


dial  prayer  of,  Rev.  and  dear  sirs,  your  affectionate  son, 
and  obliged  servant  in  the  Gospel,  J.  F." 

"P.  S.  I  need  not  tell  you,  sirs,  that  the  hour  in  which 
Providence  shall  make  my  way  plain  to  return  to  Eng- 
land, to  unite  with  the  happy  number  of  those  who  feel 
or  seek  the  power  of  Christian  godliness,  will  be  wel- 
come to  me.  O  favoured  Britons!  Happy  would  it  be 
for  them  if  they  knew  their  Gospel  privileges  !  My  rela- 
tions in  Adam  are  all  very  kind  to  me ;  but  the  spiritual 
relations,  whom  God  has  raised  me  in  England,  exceed 
them  yet.  Thanks  be  to  Christ,  and  to  his  blasphemed 
religion !" 

21.  In  a  letter  to  Dr.  Conyers,  written  from  the  same 
place,  the  day  following,  in  which  he  mentions  having 
sent  him  his  tract,  called  The  Reconciliation,  and  urges 
him  to  labour  to  promote  peace  and  unanimity  among 
the  disciples  of  Christ,  he  adds,  concerning  the  French 
infidels,  "  If  you  saw  with  what  boldness  the  false  phi- 
losophers of  the  continent,  who  are  the  apostles  of  the 
age,  attack  Christianity,  and  represent  it  as  one  of  the 
worst  religions  in  the  world,  and  fit  only  to  make  the 
professors  of  it  murder  one  another,  or  at  least  to  con- 
tend among  themselves ;  and  how  they  urge  our 
disputes  to  make  the  Gospel  of  Christ  the  jest  of 
nations,  and  the  abhorrence  of  all  flesh ;  you  would 
break  through  your  natural  timidity,  and  invite  all  our 
brethren  in  the  ministry  to  do  what  the  herds  do  on  the 
Swiss  mountains,  when  wolves  attack  them  ;  instead  of 
goring  one  another,  they  unite,  and  form  a  close  batta- 
lion, and  face  the  common  enemy  on  all  sides.  What  a 
shame  would  it  be,  if  cows  and  bulls  showed  more  pru- 
dence, and  more  regard  for  union,  than  Christians  and 
Gospel  ministers  !" 

22.  Here  he  took  leave  of  Mr.  Ireland,  and,  in  order 
to  shorten  his  journey  back  to  Nyon  and  enjoy  new 
prospects,  ventured  to  cross  the  mountains  which  sepa- 
rate France  from  Switzerland.  This  was  of  bad  conse- 
quence. For  "on  the  third  day  of  the  journey,"  says 
he,  "  I  found  an  unexpected  trial :  a  large  hill,  whose 
winding  roads  were  so  steep,  that  though  we  fed  the 
horses  with  bread  and  wine,  they  could  scarcely  draw 
the  chaise,  obliged  me  to  walk  in  all  the  steepest  places. 
The  climbing  lasted  several  hours,  the  sun  was  hot,  I 


1TFE  OP  RET.  J.  FLETCHER. 


225 


perspired  violently,  and  the  next  day  I  spit  blood  again. 
I  have  chiefly  kept  to  goats'  milk  ever  since,  and  hope  I 
shall  get  over  this  death  also,  because  I  find  myself, 
blessed  be  God,  better  again,  and  my  cough  is  neither 
frequent  nor  violent." 

23.  In  the  former  part  of  this  year,  (1778,)  a  letter 
was  written  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Perronet,  informing  him 
that  there  was  a  vuluable  estate  at  his  native  place,  which 
properly  belonged  to  him,  and  which  might  easily  be 
recovered,  if  he  sent  one  of  his  sons  to  claim  it.  All 
his  friends,  whom  he  consulted  on  the  occasion,  judged 
this  information  was  not  to  be  slighted.  And  his 
youngest  son,  Mr.  William  Ferronet,  the  surgeon  and 
apothecary,  frequently  mentioned  above,  was  willing  to 
undertake  the  journey.  But  before  he  set  out  he  wrote 
to  Mr.  Fletcher,  desiring  his  advice.  Part  of  his  answer 
was  as  follows  : — 

"Nyon,  June  2,  1778. 

"While  I  write  to  you  to  make  your  title  clear  to  a 
precarious  estate  on  earth,  permit  me  to  remind  you  of 
the  heavenly  inheritance  entailed  upon  believers.  The 
will  (the  New  Testament)  by  which  we  can  recover  it, 
is  proved;  the  court  is  equitable  ;  the  Judge  loving  and 
gracious.  To  enter  on  the  possession  of  part  of  the 
estate  here,  and  of  the  whole  hereafter,  we  need  only 
"to  believe,  and  prove,  evangelically,  that  we  are  believ- 
ers. Let  us  set  about  it  now  with  earnestness,  with 
perseverance,  and  with  full  assurance,  that  through  faith 
we  shall  infallibly  carry  our  cause.  Alas!  what  are 
estates  or  crowns,  to  grace  and  glory?  The  Lord  grant 
that  we,  and  all  our  friends,  may  choose  the  better  part, 
which  your  brother,  my  dear  friend,  so  happily  chose. 
And  may  we  firmly  stand  to  the  choice,  as  he  did,  to  the 
last.  My  best  respects  wait  upon  your  dear  father,  your 
sisters,  and  nieces.  God  reward  your  kindness  to  me 
upon  them  all  ! 

"This  is  a  delightful  country.  If  you  come  to  see  it, 
and  claim  the  estate,  bring  all  the  papers  and  memorials 
your  father  can  collect,  and  come  to  share  a  pleasant 
apartment,  and  one  of  the  finest  prospects  in  the  world, 
in  the  house  where  I  was  born.  I  design  to  try  this  fine 
air  some  months  longer.  We  have  a  line  shady  wood 
near  the  lake,  where  I  can  ride  in  the  cool  all  the  day, 
10* 


226 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


and  enjoy  the  singing  of  a  multitude  of  birds.  But  this, 
though  sweet,  does  not  come  up  to  the  singing  of  my 
dear  friends  in  England.  There  I  meet  them  in  spi- 
rit several  hours  in  the  day.  God  bless  my  dear 
friends." 

A  little  after  this  he  says  to  another  friend  : — "  The 
birds  of  my  fine  wood  have  almost  done  singing ;  but  I 
have  met  with  a  parcel  of  children,  whose  hearts  seem 
turned  toward  singing  the  praises  of  God,  and  we  sing 
every  day  from  four  to  five.  Help  us  by  your  prayers. 
One  of  them  received,  I  hope,  the  love  of  Christ  this 
week." 

About  the  same  time  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Turner,  as  fol- 
lows : — 

"  Should  I  gather  strength,  I  should,  under  God,  ac- 
knowledge you,  dear  sir,  as  the  instrument  of  that  bless- 
ing, as  you  were  above  twenty  years  ago.  Ten  thou- 
sand thanks  I  render  to  you,  sir,  and  to  Mr.  Perronel, 
for  your  kind  and  generous  care  and  attendance.  May 
God  reward  you  both  by  bestowing  upon  you  all  the 
blessings  which  can  make  life  happy,  death  comfortable, 
and  eternity  delightful  and  glorious!  May  the  richest 
cordials  of  Divine  love,  and  the  balm  of  Gilead,  a  Sa- 
viour's precious  blood,  revive  your  souls  and  comfort 
your  hearts  !  And  in  your  every  want  and  extremity, 
may  you  both  find  such  tender  helpers  and  comforters 
as  have  been  found  in  you  by,  dear  sir,  your  most  oblig- 
ed, though  unworthy  patient  and  servant,         J.  P." 

24.  It  appears  by  a  letter  of  his  to  Mr.  Ireland,  dated 
July  15,  that  he  continued  to  recover,  and  that  he  failed 
not  to  use  his  strength  as  fast  as  he  gained  it.  "  I  have 
ventured,"  says  he,  "  to  preach  once,  and  to  expound 
once  in  the  church.  Our  ministers  are  very  kind,  and 
preach  to  the  purpose  :  a  young  one  of  this  town  gave 
us  lately  a  very  excellent  Gospel  sermon.  Grown  up 
people  stand  fast  in  their  stupidity,  or  in  their  self-right- 
eousness. The  day  I  preached  I  met  with  some  children 
in  my  wood,  walking  or  gathering  strawberries.  I  spoke 
to  them  about  our  Father,  our  common  Father.  We  felt 
a  touch  of  brotherly  affection.  They  said  they  would 
sing  to  their  Father  as  well  as  the  birds;  and  followed 
me ;  attempting  to  make  such  melody  as  you  know  is 
commonly  made  in  these  parts.    I  outrode  them,  but 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


22? 


some  of  them  had  the  patience  to  follow  me  home,  and 
said  they  would  speak  with  me  ;  but  the  people  of  the 
house  stopped  them,  saying,  I  would  not  be  troubled 
with  children.  They  cried,  and  said,  They  were  sure 
I  would  not  say  so,  for  I  was  their  good  brother.  The 
next  day  when  I  heard  it,  I  inquired  after  them,  and 
invited  them  to  come  to  me ;  which  they  have  done 
every  day  since.  I  make  them  little  hymns,  which  they 
sing.  Some  of  them  are  under  sweet  drawings.  Yes- 
terday I  wept  for  joy  on  hearing  one  of  them  speak  of 
conviction  of  sin,  and  joy  unspeakable  in  .Christ  which 
had  followed,  a's  an  experienced  believer  would  do  in 
Bristol.  Last  Sunday  I  met  them  in  the  wood  ;  there 
were  one  hundred  of  them,  and  as  many  adults.  Our 
first  pastor  has  since  desired  me  to  desist  from  preach- 
ing in  the  wood  (for  I  had  exhorted)  for  fear  of  giving 
umbrage  ;  and  I  have  complied  from  a  concurrence  of 
circumstances  which  are  not  worth  mentioning;  I  there- 
fore meet-fhem  in  my  fafhef's  yard. 

"In  one  of  my  letters  I  promised  you  some  anecdotes 
•concerning  the  death  of  our  two  great  philosophers,  Vol- 
taire and  Rousseau.  Mr.  Tronchin,  the  physician  of  the 
-duke  of  Orleans,  being  sent  for  to  attend  Voltaire  in  his 
illness  at  Paris,  Voltaire  said  to  him,  '  Sir,  I  desire  you 
would  save  my  life  ;  I  will  give  you  the  half  of  my  for- 
tune if  you  will  lengthen  out  my  days  only  for  six  months. 
If  not,  I  shall  go  to  -the  devil,  and  shall  carry  you  away 
along  with  me.' 

"  Rousseau  died  more  decently,  as  full  of  himself  as 
Voltaire  was  of  the  wicked  one.  He  paid  that  attention 
to  nature  and  the  natural  sun  which  the  Christian  pays 
to  grace  and  the  Sun  of  righteousness.  These  were 
some  of  his  last  words  to  his  wife,  which  I  copy  from  a 
printed  letter  circulating  in  these  parts  :  1  Open  the  win- 
dow that  I  may  see  the  green  fields  once  more.  How 
beautiful  is  nature!  How  wonderful  is  the  sun!  See 
what  glorious  light  it  sends  forth  !  It  is  God  who  calls 
me.  How  pleasing  is  death  to  a  man  who  is  not  conscious 
of  any  sin  !  O  God !  my  soul  is  now  as  pure  as  when 
it  first  came  out  of  thy  hands  :  crown  it  with  thy  hea- 
venly bliss !'  God  deliver  us  from  self  and  Satan,  the 
internal  and  the  external  fiend.  The  Lord  forbid  we 
should  fall  into  the  snare  of  the  -Sadducees,  with  the 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  ELETCITEtU 


former  of  these  two  famous  men,  or  into  that  of  the 
Pharisees  with  the  latter.    Farewell  in  Jesus. 

"  J.  F." 

25.  We  may  infer,  I  think,  from  these,  and  divers 
other  extracts  of  letters  which  appear  in  this  work, 
under  Mr.  Fletcher's  own  hand,  that  the  following  ac- 
count by  Mr.  Gilpin  is  perfectly  correct : — "  As  during 
Mr.  Fletcher's  abode  in  England,  his  attachment  to  his 
absent  countrymen  was  daily  expressed  in  fervent  prayer, 
and  frequently  in  affectionate  epistles  addressed  to  those 
among  them  whose  situation  and  abilities  might  have 
rendered  them  eminently  useful  to  the  Ghurch  ;  so  when 
present  with  them,  his  affectionate  concern  for  their 
happiness  was  evinced  by  the  most  indefatigable  exer- 
tions for  their  advancement  in  religion  and  virtue. 
When  he  was,  to  all  appearance,  in  dying  circum- 
stances, even  in  those  seasons,  the  entreaties  of  friends, 
the  advice  of  physicians,  together  with  his  bodily  infir- 
mities, were  found  insufficient  to  restrain  him  from  the 
exercise  of  his  ministry.  His  manner  of  employing 
himself  among  them  is  modestly  expressed  in  an  apology 
which  he  once  thought  it  necessary  to  make  for  his  con- 
duct upon  those  occasions  ;  from  which  the  following 
passage  is  extracted  : — '  Afflicted  with  a  dangerous  dis- 
ease, and  obliged  to  intrust  the  care  of  my  Church  to  a 
substitute,  with  the  permission  of  my  superiors,  I  came 
to  this  place  on  a  visit  to  my  kinsmen  ;  and  especially 
for  the  purpose  of  breathing  my  native  air,  which  the 
physicians,  after  having  already  exhausted  their  art  in 
my  favour,  considered  as  the  last  remedy  that  remained 
to  be  tried  with  any  hope  of  success.  Upon  my  arrival 
the  pastors  of  Nyon,  to  the  first  of  whom  I  have  had 
the  honour  of  being  known  for  these  six  and  thirty  years, 
obligingly  offered  me  the  use  of  their  pulpits,  if  my  health 
should  permit  me  to  preach.  But  after  appointing  dif- 
ferent days,  on  which  I  hoped  to  have  taken  the  advan- 
tage of  their  friendly  offers,  by  repeated  returns  of  my 
weakness,!  was  prevented  from  fulfilling  my  engage- 
ments. I  have,  however,  preached  three  or  four  times  : 
but  observing  in  myself,  during  those  exercises,  a  want 
of  strength  to  occupy  the  pulpit  with  that  power  and 
dignity  which  are  expected  in  a  preacher  who  appears 
before  a  polished  audience,  I  considered  it  rather  as  my 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


229 


duty,  with  the  permission,  and  under  the  inspection  of 
our  pastors,  without  ascending  the  pulpit,  to  give  some 
familiar  instructions  to  such  children  and  others  as  were 
disposed  to  receive  them  ;  offering  in  a  room  from  time 
to  time  occasional  reflections,  either  upon  some  book 
of  piety  or  some  passage  of  Holy  Scripture.'  Such 
were  his  customary  employments  during  his  residence 
at  Nyon.  And  to  these  pious  exercises  he  devoted  his 
remaining  strength  with  that  assiduity  and  persev  erance 
which  abundantly  manifested  how  little  he  regarded 
either  ease  or  health  when  they  came  in  competition 
with  the  adv  antage  and  welfare  of  his  countrymen." 

20.  But  while  he  engaged  himself  with  so  much  zcaJ 
in  the  service  of  his  countrymen  at  large,  among  his 
kinsmen  and  friends,  his  benevolent  labours  were  still 
more  abundant.  He  expressed  the  most  vehement  de- 
sires, and  employed  the  most  strenuous  efforts  that  the 
whole  circle  of  his  friends  might  become  a  people  "  fear- 
ing (Jod,  and  working  righteousness."  He  admonished 
them  with  the  authority  of  a  minister,  and  entreated  them 
WlJl  the  gentleness  of  a  brother,  mixing  both  his  admo- 
nitions and  entreaties  with  many  affectionate  tears. 
When  he  perceived  in  any  of  them  an  inclination  to 
linger,  either  in  the  darkness  of  Deism,  or  in  the  mazes 
of  dissipation,  like  the  deliverers  of  Lot,  he  would  stretch 
out  his  hand,  and  endeavour,  with  a  pious  violence,  to 
rescue  them  from  the  dangers  to  which  they  were  ex- 
posed. And,  on  the  other  hand,  when  he  discovered  in 
any  of  his  friends  the  least  discernible  tokens  either  of 
godly  sorrow  or  of  holy  desire,  he  would  give  a  loose 
to  the  fervours  of  that  holy  joy  which  is  manifested  on 
similar  occasions  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God. 

27.  "  But,  perhaps,  it  is  impossible  to  give  any  just 
idea  of  the  extraordinary  concern  he  expressed  for  the 
establishment  of  his  near  relations  in  the  faith  of  the 
Gospel,  except  in  his  own  words.  The  following  pas- 
sages, translated  from  an  epistle  which  he  formerly 
addressed  to  his  brother,  the  assessor,  will  set  this  ami- 
able part  of  his  disposition  in  a  just  point  of  view.  After 
lamenting  that  he  had  passed  so  great  a  part  of  his  own 
life  in  the  vain  pursuits  of  the  world,  he  continues, — '  And 
arc  you  not  constrained,  my  dear  brother,  to  make  the 
same  lamentations  with  me  ?   Yes,  I  cannot  but  indulge 


230 


LTFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


a  hope  that  God  will  hear  my  prayers,  that  he  will  have 
some  regard  to  the  tears  with  which  I  wet  this  paper, 
and  that,  while  you  are  reading  these  lines,  his  grace 
will  operate  upon  your  heart.  If  you  did  but  know 
how  much  joy  there  would  be  in  heaven  for  your  con- 
version ;  if  you  could  but  conceive  what  transports  of 
gratitude  would  overflow  your  heart  and  mine  ;  if  you 
were  but  sensible  how  my  bowels  are  moved  for  you  ; 
surely  then,  without  a  moment's  delay,  you  would  sub- 
mit to  the  grace  of  that  Saviour  who  is  even  now  speak- 
ing in  your  heart.  And  can  you  still  hold  out,  my  dear 
brother  ?  And  are  you  so  entire  an  enemy  to  your  own 
happiness,  so  insensible,  so  hard,  as  to  decline  making 
a  full  surrender  of  yourself  to  God  ?  I  will  hope  better 
things  of  you,  through  the  grace  of  our  common  Sa- 
viour. O  may  that  grace  overwhelm  thy  heart,  and  melt 
<lown  all  thy  hardness  !  As  we  are  of  one  blood,  let  us 
also  be  of  one  heart  and  one  soul.  Do  not  reject,  I  con- 
jure you,  my  brotherly  counsels  and  supplications.  Do 
not  refuse  to  come  where  so  much  felicity  awaits  you, 
because  pressed  to  it  by  a  person  who  is  unworthy  to 
bring  you  the  invitation.  We  have  passed  our  infancy 
and  our  youth  beneath  the  same  roof,  and  under  the  same 
masters.  We  have  borne  the  same  fatigues,  and  tasted 
the  same  pleasures.  Why  then  should  we  be  separated 
now  ?  Why  should  they  be  divided  who,  by  nature, 
habit,  and  friendship,  have  been  so  long  united?  I  have 
undertaken  a  journey  to  the  New  Jerusalem :  O  suffer 
me  not  to  go  thither  alone.  Let  neither  the  fatigues 
nor  the  length  of  the  way  affright  you.  We  shall  be 
provided,  even  in  the  desert,  with  heavenly  manna  and 
streams  of  living  water.  God  himself  shall  go  before 
us  as  in  a  pillar  of  fire,  and,  under  the  protection  of  his 
wings,  we  may  walk  without  fear,  through  the  valley 
of  the  shadow  of  death.  Come,  then,  my  dear  brotherl 
I  am  most  unwilling  to  leave  you  behind.  Come  ;  sup- 
port me  ;  go  before  me  ;  encourage  me  ;  show  me  the 
way  ;  I  feel  the  want  of  a  faithful  companion  and  a 
Christian  friend.  Suffer  me  to  throw  myself  at  your 
feet,  to  embrace  your  knees,  and  to  wash  them  with  the 
tears  which  are  now  streaming  from  my  eyes.  I  ask 
no  part  of  your  temporal  possessions  ;  but  I  entreat  you 
to  seek  after  an  eternal  inheritance.    I  desire  neither 


1IFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


931 


your  gold  nor  your  silver:  but  I  am  anxious  that  you 
should  share  my  joy.  I  am  solicitous  that  you  should 
accompany  me  to  Mount  Zion,  to  the  city  of  the  living 
God; — that  you  should  mix  in  that  innumerable  com- 
pany of  angels  who  worship  there,  and  be  counted  in 
the  general  assembly  and  Church  of  the  first-born.  In 
short,  I  am  anxious,  my  dear  brother,  that  you  should 
come  with  me,  to  have  your  name  written  in  the  book 
of  life,  and  be  made  free  of  that  holy  city  which  shall 
one  day  descend  from  God  out  of  heaven.  I  have  a 
presentiment  that  you  will,  at  last,  submit  to  the  easy 
yoke  of  Christ,  and  that,  after  you  are  converted,  you 
will  strengthen  your  brethren.  Do  not  tell  me  again 
that  piety  is  usually  the  portion  of  younger  brothers, 
since  I  read,  in  the  Old  Testament,  that  every  first-born 
male  should  be  consecrated,  in  a  peculiar  manner,  to 
God.  Let  me  rather  entreat  you  to  take  the  advantage 
of  your  situation.  Be  at  least  as  far  beyond  me  in  piety 
as  you  are  in  years  ;  and,  instead  of  feeling  any  jealousy 
upon  this  account,  my  pleasure  will  be  augmented  in  the 
great  day  oi*our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  see  myself  placed 
at  your  feet.'  ^ 

These  quotations  may  serve  as  a  specimen  of  the 
manner  in  which  Mr.  Fletcher  was  accustomed  to  ex- 
press his  ardent  desire,  in  different  degrees,  for  the  spi- 
ritual prosperity  of  his  countrymen,  his  friends,  and  his 
brethren. 

28.  In  the  meantime,  while  Mr.  Fletcher  was  thus 
labouring,  even  beyond  his  strength,  according  to  the 
opportunity  afforded  him,  to  be  useful  to  his  own  coun- 
trymen, he  was  not  unmindful  of  his  dear  flock  at  Made- 
ley.  In  a  letter  written  about  this  time,  among  other 
important  observations  and  advices,  he  says  : — "  I  am 
yet  in  the  land  of  the  living,  to  prepare,  with  you,  for 
the  land  where  there  is  life  without  death,  praising  with- 
out weariness  of  the  flesh,  and  loving  without  separa- 
tion. There  I  once  more  challenge  you  to  meet  me, 
with  all  the  mind  that  was  in  Christ ;  and  may  not  one 
hoof  be  left  behind  !  May  there  not  be  found  one  Dema6 
among  you,  turning  aside  from  the  little  flock  and  the 
narrow  way,  to  love  and  follow  this  present,  perishing 
world.  May  there  not  be  one  Esau,  who,  for  a  frivolous 
.gratification,  said  his  birthright-;  nor  another  wife  of 


232 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLEl'CHER. 


Lot,  who  looked  back  for  the  good  things  of  the  city  of 
Destruction,  and  was  punished  by  a  judgment  almost  as 
fearful  as  that  of  Ananias,  Sapphira,  and  Judas.  My 
dear  companions,  let  us  be  consistent ;  let  us  seek  first 
the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness,  and  all  other 
things,  upon  your  diligent,  frugal,  secondary  endea- 
vours, shall  be  added  unto  you.  Let  us  live  daily,  more 
and  more,  upon  the  free  love  of  our  gracious  Creator 
and  Preserver,  the  grace  and  righteousness  of  our  aton- 
ing Redeemer  and  Mediator,  nor  let  us  stop  short  of  the 
powerful  joyous  influence  of  our  Comforter  and  Sancti- 
fier. 

"  Bear  me  on  your  hearts,  as  I  do  you  upon  mine.: 
and  meet  we  all  in  the  heart  of  Christ,  who  is  the  centre 
of  our  union,  and  our  common  head  ;  humbly  leaving  it 
to  him  when  and  where  we  shall  meet  again.  Farewell 
in  Christ  till  we  meet  in  the  flesh  around  his  table,  or  in 
the  spirit  around  his  throne.  I  am  your  afflicted,  com- 
forted brother,  J.  F." 

July  18,  he  writes  also  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Greaves,  in- 
trusted with  the  oversight  of  them,  and  observes  : — "I 
trust  you  lay  yourself  out  in  length  and  breadth  for  the 
good  of  the  flock  committed  to  your  care.  I  should  be 
glad  to  hear  that  all  the  flock  grow  in  grace,  and  that  the 
little  flock  (those  united  in  Christian  fellowship)  grow 
in  humble  love. 

"  Be  pleased  to  read  the  following  note  in  the  church; 
'  John  Fletcher  begs  a  farther  interest  in  the  prayers  of 
the  congregation  of  Madelcy  ;  and  desires  those  who 
assemble  to  serve  God  in  the  church,  to  help  him  to 
return  public  thanks  to  almighty  God  for  many  mercies 
received  ;  especially  for  being  able  to  -do  every  day  a 
little  ministerial  duty,  which  he  considers  as  an  earnest 
of  the  strength  he  should  be  .glad  to  have,  to  come  back 
soon,  and  serve  them  in  the  Gospel ;  which  he  designs 
to  do,  please  God,  in  some  months.  In  the  meantime 
lie  beseeches  them  to  serve  God  as  'Christians,  and  to 
love  one  another  as  brethren  ;  neglecting  no  means  of 
grace,  and  rejoicing  in  all  the  hopes  of  glory.' 

"  I  hope,  my  dear  brother,  that  you  remember  my 
request  to  you,  in  my  letter  from  Dover ;  and  that  yon 
are  glad  of  every  possible  help  to  do  the  people  good. 
The  harvest  is  great,  the  labourers  arc  but  comparatively 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


233 


few.  Pray  the  Lord  to  send  more  labourers  into  his 
harvest ;  and  rejoice  when  he  sends  us  any  who  will 
help  us  to  break  up  the  fallow  ground.  My  love  to  all 
our  kind  neighbours,  and  to  the  preachers,  whom  1  beg 
you  will  thank  in  my  name. 

"  Be  pleased,  when  you  have  an  opportunity,  to  read 
the  following  note  to  the  societies  at  Madeley,  Dawiey, 
and  the  Banks  : — 

'My  Dkar  Brethren, — I  hope  you  have  no  need  of 
a  line  to  assure  you  of  the  continuance  of  my  brotherly 
love  for  you.  We  are  called  to  grow  in  grace,  and,  con- 
sequently, in  love,  which  is  the  greatest  of  all  Christian 
graces.  Your  prayers  for  my  soul  and  my  body  have 
not  been  without  answer.  Blessed  be  God  !  glory  be  to 
his  rich  mercy  in  Christ,  I  live  yet  the  life  of  faith  ;  and 
as  to  my  body,  I  recover  some  strength  ;  which  rejoices 
me  the  more,  as  I  hope  a  <jood  Providence  will  make  way 
for  my  laying  it  out,  in  inviting  you  to  leave  the  things 
which  are  behind,  and  to  press,  with  earnestness,  unity, 
and  patience,  toward  the  mark  of  our  heavenly  calling 
in  Christ.  God  bless  you  all,  with  all  the  blessings 
brought  to  the  Church  by  Christ  Jesus,  and  by  the  other 
Comforter!  Fare  ye  all  well  in  Jesus;  and  remember, 
at  the  throne  of  grace,  your  affectionate  brother  and 
servant  in  Christ,  J.  F.'  " 

23.  Mr.  Fletcher's  recovery,  however,  was  but  very 
slow.  On  the  15th  of  September  following,  we  find  him 
acknowledging  that  he  had  "still  very  trying,  feverish 
nights,  and  nothing  but  forced  evacuations."  He  adds, 
however,  "  I  am  kept  in  peace  of  mind,  resigned  to  God's 
will,  who  afflicts  me  for  my  good,  and  justly  sets  me 
aside  for  my  unprofitableness.  Well,  though  I  am  a 
bruised  vessel,  yet  I  rest  on  him.  He  docs  not  break 
me ;  yea,  he  comforts  me  on  every  side.  His  grace 
within,  and  his  people  without,  turn  my  trying  circum- 
stances into  matter  of  praise."  The  reader  will  easily 
believe  that,  although  he  speaks  thus,  he  was  very  far 
from  being  laid  aside  for  his  unprofitableness  as  a  broken 
vessel.  The  very  same  day  in  which  he  uses  that  lan- 
guage he  writes  as  follows  to  Mr.  Ireland  : — 

"  My  Very  Dear  Friend, — I  arn  just  returned  from 
an  excursion  I  made  with  my  brother  through  the  fine 
rale  in  the  midst  of  the  high  hills  which  divide  France 


234 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


from  this  country.  In  that  vale  we  found  three  lakes, 
one  on  French  ground,  and  two  on  Swiss ;  the  largest 
is  six  miles  long  and  two  wide.  It  is  the  part  of  the 
country  where  industry  is  most  apparent,  and  where  po- 
pulation thrives  best.  The  inhabitants  arc  chiefly  wood- 
men, coopers,  watch-makers,  and  jewellers.  They  told 
me  they  had  the  best  singing  and  the  best  preacher  in 
the  country.  I  asked  if  any  sinners  were  converted 
under  his  ministry  ?  They  stared,  and  asked  wbat  I 
meant  by  conversion  ?  When  I  had  explained  myself, 
they  said,  '  We  do  not  live  in  the  time  of  miracles.' 

"  I  was  better  satisfied  in  passing  through  a  part  of  the 
vale  which  belongs  to  the  king  of  France.  I  saw  a  pro- 
digious concourse  of  people,  and  supposed  they  kept  a 
fair,  but  was  agreeably  surprised  to  find  three  mission- 
aries, who  went  about  as  itinerant  preachers  to  help  the 
regular  clergy  .  They  had  been  there  already  some  days, 
and  were  three  brothers,  who  preached  morning  and 
evening.  The  evening  service  opened  by  what  they 
called  a  con  ference.  One  of  the  missionaries  took  the 
pulpit,  and  the  parish  priest  proposed  questions  to  him, 
which  he  answered  at  full  length,  and  in  a  very  edifying 
manner.  The  subject  was  the  unlawfulness  and  the 
mischief  of  those  methods  by  which  persons  of  different 
sexes  lay  snares  for  each  other,  and  corrupt  each  other's 
morals.  The  subject  was  treated  with  delicacy,  pro- 
priety, and  truth.  The  method  was  admirably  well  cal- 
culated to  draw  and  fix  the  attention  of  a  mixed  multi- 
tude. This  conference  being  ended,  another  missionary 
took  the  pulpit.  His  text  was  our  Lord's  description 
of  the  day  of  judgment.  Before  the  sermon  all  those 
who  for  the  press  could  kneel,  did,  and  sung  a  French 
hymn,  to  beg  a  blessing  upon  the  word  ;  and  indeed  it 
was  blessed.  An  awful  attention  was  visible  upon  most, 
and  for  a  good  part  of  the  discourse,  the  voice  of  the 
preacher  was  almost  lost  in  the  cries  and  bitter  wailings 
of  the  audience.  When  the  outcry  began,  the  preacher 
was  describing  the  departure  of  the  wicked  into  eternal 
fire.  They  urged  that  God  was  merciful,  and  that  Jesus 
Christ  had  shed  his  blood  for  them.  '  But  that  mercy 
you  have  slighted,  (replies  the  Judge,)  and  now  is  the 
time  of  justice  ;  that  blood  you  have  trodden  under  foot, 
and  now  it  cries  for  vengeance.    Know  your  day, — 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


235 


slight  the  Father's  mercy  and  the  Son's  blood  no  longer.' 
I  have  been  seen  but  once  or  twice  congregations  as 
much  affected  in  England. 

"  One  of  our  ministers  being  ill,  I  ventured  a  second 
time  into  the  pulpit  last  Sunday  ;  and  the  Sunday  before 
I  preached  six  miles  off  to  two  thousand  people  in  a 
jail  yard,  where  they  were  come  to  see  a  poor  murderer 
two  days  before  his  execution.  I  was  a  little  abused  by 
the  bailiff  on  the  occasion,  and  refused  the  liberty  of 
attending  the  poor  man  to  the  scaffold,  where  he  was  to 
be  broken  on  the  wheel.  I  hope  he  died  penitent.  The 
day  before  he  suffered,  he  said  he  had  broken  his  irons, 
and  that,  as  he  deserved  to  die,  he  desired  new  ones  to 
be  put  on,  lest  he  should  be  tempted  to  make  his  escape 
a  second  time. 

"  You  ask  what  I  design  to  do  1  I  propose,  if  it  be 
the  Lord's  will,  to  spend  the  winter  here,  to  bear  my 
testimony  against  the  trade  of  my  countrymen. 

"  In  the  spring  I  shall,  if  nothing  prevent,  return  to 
England,  with  you,  or  with  Mr.  Perronet,  if  his  affairs 
are  settled,  or  alone,  if  other  ways  fail.  In  the  mean- 
time I  rejoice  with  you  in  Jesus,  and  in  the  glorious 
hope  of  that  complete  salvation  his  faithfulness  has 
promised,  and  his  power  can  never  be  at  a  loss  to  be- 
stow. We  must  be  saved  by  faith  and  hope,  till  we  are 
saved  by  perfect  love,  and  made  partakers  of  heavenly 
glory. 

"  I  am  truly  a  stranger  here.  "Well,  then,  as  strangers, 
let  us  go  where  we  shall  meet  the  assembly  of  the  right- 
eous, gathered  in  Jesus.  Farewell  in  him,  you  and 
yours,  J.  F." 

30.  In  the  latter  end  of  the  year  Mr.  William  Perronet 
set  out  for  Switzerland.  After  a  fatiguing  journey,  as 
he  writes  to  his  father,  he  arrived  at  Nyon,  December 
11th,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  finding  Mr.  Fletcher  "in 
pretty  good  health,  save  some  little  weakness,  and  an 
inflammation  in  his  eyes."  In  a  letter  he  wrote  from 
thence  to  Mr.  Greenwood,  he  gives  the  following  farther 
account  of  Mr.  Fletcher. 

There  is  something  in  the  beginning  of  his  letter  which 
is  a  little  humorous ;  but  this  the  candid  reader  will  easily 
excuse.    It  runs  thus  : — 

"Dear  Sir, — As  you  desire  of  me  to  send  you  some 


236 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


account  of  my  journey,  now  I  am  a  little  settled,  I  will 
do  it  in  the  best  manner  I  am  able. 

"  I  set  out  from  London  on  Tuesday,  November  the 
17th.  We  arrived  at  Dover  about  three  on  Wednesday 
morning  ;  embarked  on  Thursday  ;  and  arrived  at  Calais 
in  about  three  hours. 

"  Though  it  was  in  war  time,  yet  we  did  not  meet 
with  the  least  incivility,  either  here  or  in  any  part  of 
France.  Bat  the  badness  of  the  inns  makes  the  travel- 
ling through  this  country  disagreeable.  The  rooms  in 
general  are  so  dirty  as  to  be  fitter  for  swine  than  men. 
Each  room,  both  above  and  below  stairs,  is  provided 
with  two,  three,  or  four  beds,  and  they  are  so  high  as 
to  require  steps  to  get  up  to  them.  For  there  is  on  each 
bed,  first,  a  monstrous  canvass  bag  stuffed  with  a  huge 
quantity  of  straw  ;  over  this  a  feather  bed,  and  on  this 
as  many  mattresses  as  the  host  can  furnish.  But  the 
worst  is,  the  sheets  are  not  damp,  but  rather  downright 
wet.  Yet  the  good  woman  would  constantly  scold  us 
if  we  attempted  to  dry  them,  even  at  our  own  fire  ;  in- 
sisting upon  it  that  it  was  impossible  they  should  be 
damp  at  all. 

14  At  table  every  one  is  furnished  with  a  spoon  and  a 
fork,  but  with  no  knives.  And  in  general  they  are  not 
needful  :  for  both  flesh  and  vegetables  are  so  stewed 
down  as  to  be  properly  termed  spoon  meat.  However, 
at  the  meanest  inn  every  one  is  provided  with  a  clean 
napkin :  and  both  after  dinner  and  after  supper  there  is 
a  fine  dessert  of  fruit. 

"  We  travelled  early  and  late  :  yet  having  but  one  set 
of  horses,  we  were  a  whole  week  in  getting  to  Paris.  In 
Paris  all  is  gayety  and  finery:  but  without  the  least  idea 
of  neatness.  The  scarcity  of  water  is  one  excuse  for  the 
general  want  of  cleanliness,  both  in  their  persons  and 
houses. 

"  On  Tuesday,  December  8th,  we  dined  at  Portallier ; 
the  prettiest  town  in  all  France.  The  reason  of  which 
is,  being  burned  down  some  years  ago,  it  was  rebuilt  by 
the  late  king.  The  next  morning  we  entered  Switzer- 
land, stepping  over  a  brook,  which  divides  Switzerland 
from  France.  On  the  French  side  of  the  brook  is  a 
cross  ;  on  the  other  a  pillar  with  the  arms  of  Switzer- 
land-   In  the  evening  we  arrived  at  Lausanne,  a  famous 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


237 


old  town.  Here  I  remained  the  next  day,  and  on  Fri- 
day, the  11th,  went  on  to  Nyon,  where  I  had  the  plea- 
sure of  finding  our  dear  friend  in  pretty  good  health 
and  spirits.  Mr.  Fletcher's  house  is  a  fine  large  build- 
ing, agreeably  situated.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a  castle, 
and  is  supposed  to  have  been  built  five  hundred  years 
ago. 

"  In  passing  through  France,  how  bitterly  did  I  regret 
the  want  of  the  Sunday  service  !  And  it  was  not  much 
better  with  me  when  I  came  into  Switzerland.  For  I 
understood  so  little  of  their  language  that  I  could  not 
profit  much  by  the  public  service.  Indeed  this  loss  is  in 
some  measure  made  up  by  the  company  and  conversa- 
tion of  Mr.  Fletcher  ;  who,  however  engaged  he  is  the 
greater  part  of  the  day,  is  generally  so  kind  as  to  spend 
a  little  time  with  me  in  the  evening  in  prayer  and  con- 
versation. 

"  His  chief  delight  seems  to  be  in  meeting  his  little 
society  of  children.  And  as  he  is  exceeding  fond  of 
them,  they  appear  to  be  altogether  as  fond  of  him.  He 
seldom  either  walks  abroad  or  rides  out,  but  some  of 
them  follow  him;  singing  the  hymns  they  have  learned, 
and  conversing  with  him  by  the  way.  But  you  must 
not  suppose  that  he  is  permitted  to  enjoy  this  happiness 
unmolested.  Not  only  the  drunkards  make  songs  on 
him  and  his  little  companions,  but  many  of  the  clergy 
loudly  complain  of  such  irregular  proceedings.  How- 
ever, he  is  upon  good  terms  with  the  three  ministers  of 
the  place  ;  all  of  whom  are  not  only  serious  men,  but 
desirous  of  promoting  true  religion." 

31.  In  another  letter,  dated  December  31st,  1778,  he 
says,  "Mr.  Fletcher  is  better,  I  think,  than  when  he  left 
England,  but  he  frequently  puts  his  strength  to  too 
severe  a  trial,  by  meeting  his  little  society,  composed 
of  children,  and  some  grown  persons  :  his  frequent  con- 
ferences with  one  or  two  serious  ministers  in  this  parish, 
and  other  exercises  of  a  like  nature  ;  and  as  soon  as 
ever  he  ventures  to  preach,  his  spitting  of  blood  returns. 
He  has  had  a  return  of  it  once  or  twice  since  I  have 
been  here.  Whenever  this  happens,  his  strength  and 
spirits  decay  surprisingly  ;  which  he  cannot  in  any  wise 
recover  but  by  lying  by  for  some  days." 

In  the  same  letter  he  observes,  "  Mr.  Fletcher  has 


238 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


taken  the  pains  to  translate  all  my  papers  into  French, 
and  his  brother,  who  is  a  sensible  worthy  man,  has  as- 
sisted in  that,  and  in  consulting  with  the  lawyers,  and 
last  of  all,  in  drawing  up  a  clear  statement  of  the  case, 
which  he  proposed  laying  before  those  gentlemen  at 
Geneva  who  have  taken  possession  of  the  estates.  Yes- 
terday we  all  set  out  on  this  business  to  Chateau  d'Oex, 
(the  birthplace  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Perronet's  father,)  which 
is  fifty-seven  miles  from  hence,  (Nyon,)  and  situated  in 
the  midst  of  the  mountains  :  but  before  we  got  sixteen 
miles,  the  horses  were  quite  tired  out,  and  the  coachman, 
(for  we  are  obliged  to  make  all  our  journeys  in  a  car- 
riage, on  account  of  the  severity  of  the  weather,)  abso- 
lutely refused  to  proceed  any  farther  ;  so  we  rested  at 
Morges,  and  returned  home  next  day." 

32.  A  few  days  after,  however,  they  attempted  to  reach 
that  place  again,  and  succeeded.  The  following  descrip- 
tion of  their  journey,  given  by  the  same  intelligent  and 
pious  person,  in  a  letter  to  his  father,  I  doubt  not,  will 
be  highly  acceptable  to  the  reader. 

"  Chateau  d'Oex,  Jan.  11,  1779. 

"Honoured  and  Dear  Sir, — In  my  last  letter  I 
mentioned  our  intended  journey  to  this  place,  where  we 
arrived  yesterday,  through  the  good  prov  idence  of  God, 
without  having  met  with  any  material  accident.  Neither 
Mr.  Fletcher,  nor  Mr.  Monod,  (the  lawyer,)  whom  we 
took  with  us,  had  ever  before  visited  this  northern  region 
of  their  own  country,  so  that  the  journey  was  as  new  to 
them  as  to  myself.  It  was  no  easy  matter,  at  this  sea- 
son, to  procure  a  guide ;  however,  at  last  we  agreed 
with  one,  and  out  we  all  set,  (on  the  7th  of  this  month,) 
on  a  journey  of  near  eighty  miles  across  the  Alps,  (be- 
ing obliged  to  go  some  leagues  about,  on  account  of  the 
badness  of  ihe  ways,)  passing  in  a  coach  over  mountains 
of  snow  and  rocks  of  ice ;  till  we  came  within  nine  miles 
of  the  place,  when  we  were  obliged  to  get  into  an  open 
sledge,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  and  danger  attending 
the  road.  And  now  we  travelled  through  narrow  passes, 
cut  through  the  snow,  (which  was  many  feet  above  our 
heads,)  on  the  sides  of  the  mountains,  whose  summits 
the  eye  could  scarce  reach ;  and  frequently  on  the  very 
brink  of  precipices,  at  the  bottom  of  which  we  could 
hear  the  waters  roar  like  thunder,  and  could  see  it  in 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER/ 


339 


some  places  rushing  down  the  sides  in  torrents,  and 
forming  in  its  passage  vast  pillars  of  ice  among  the 
rocks.  Here  we  were  shown  the  place  where  a  coacli 
had  lately  fallen  down;  and  a  little  farther,  the  spot 
where  a  native  of  Chateau  d'Oex,  but  a  few  days  before 
was  murdered,  and  then  thrown  down  the  precipice. 
We  arrived  at  length  at  the  town,  where  all  the  houses 
are  built  of  wood  within  and  without,  roofs,  ceilings, 
chimneys,  and  all ;  i.  e.,  the  enormous  kitchen  chimneys, 
for  they  have  no  other  in  any  of  their  houses  here.  These 
being  the  whole  size  of  the  room,  run  up  to  a  vast 
height,  in  the  form  of  a  steeple,  with  a  number  of  cross 
bars,  hung  full  of  hams,  tongues,  &c.  On  the  fronts  of 
all  the  houses  are  carved,  in  large  letters,  the  names  of 
the  persons  who  built  them,  the  date,  and  some  moral 
or  religious  sentence,  with  a  prayer  that  the  inhabitants 
may  be  preserved  from  pestilence,  &-c. 

"The  town  is  situated  on  a  small  spot,  amid  huge 
rocks  and  mountains  piled  one  on  the  other,  the  heads 
of  many  of  which  are  often  hid  among  the  clouds.  The 
slopes  are  beautifully  adorned  with  lofty  pines,  while 
the  enormous  sides  of  others  are  naked,  craggy,  and 
almost  perpendicular.  In  the  clefts  and  chasms  of  these, 
ten  thousand  such  buildings  as  St.  Paul's  church  might 
be  placed,  and  would  appear  but  as  so  many  trifling  or- 
naments. For  here  all  the  works  of  nature,  or  rather 
of  the  God  of  nature,  are  terribly  magnificent ;  so  that 
in  viewing  them,  one  cannot  but  admire  and  tremble  at 
the  same  instant. 

"  Nyon,  Jan.  18.  We  stayed  at  Chateau  d'Oex  two 
days,  when,  having  finished  the  business  we  went  upon, 
we  set  out  and  arrived  here  last  Friday,  not  much  the 
worse  for  this  uncomfortable  and  even  dangerous  jour- 
ney ;  however,  both  Mr.  Fletcher  and  myself  got  a  fall 
on  the  ice,  in  going  to  Chateau  d'Oex,  when  we  had  left 
the  sledge ;  for  in  some  places  it  is  reckoned  safer  to 
walk  than  to  ride,  even  in  the  sledge.  Mr.  Fletcher 
received  a  violent  blow  on  the  back  part  of  his  head, 
while  I  only  sprained  my  wrist:  to  this  I  may  add,  that 
in  crossing  the  Alps,  we  lay  two  nights  in  beds  that  were 
not  only  damp,  but  quite  musty,  and  without  curtains. 
However,  we  had  our  own  sheets,  and  so  received  no 
lasting  injury.    But  being  at  this  time  in  a  popish  can- 


240 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


ton,  and  Friday  and  Saturday  being  meagre  days,  we 
were  almost  starved  with  hunger  as  well  as  cold. 

"The  weather  here  is  extremely  severe  ;  it  is  scarce 
in  the  power  of  clothes,  or  even  fire,  to  keep  one  warm; 
and  the  wolves  begin  to  leave  the  forests,  and  to  prowl 
about  the  towns  and  villages.  Two  of  them,  Mr. 
Fletcher  tells  me,  were  seen  near  this  town  the  other 
day,  one  of  which  was  killed  by  the  country  people. 

"Whether  I  succeed  in  my  temporal  business  or  not, 
I  shall  ever  remember,  with  pleasure  and  thankfulness, 
the  opportunities  I  have  been  blessed  with  of  spending 
so  much  time  in  company  with  our  inestimable  friend ; 
who,  wherever  he  goes,  preaches  the  Gospel,  both  by 
his  words  and  example  ;  nay,  by  his  very  looks,  not  only 
to  his  friends,  but  to  all  he  meets  with.  So  that  on  the 
top  of  the  frozen  Alps,  and  in  the  dreary  vale  of  Cha- 
teau d'Oex,  some  good  seed  has  been  sown. 

"  And  here  also  he  was  visited  by  some  of  the  principal 
inhabitants  of  the  town  ;  who  stood  around  him  in  deep 
attention  for  almost  an  hour,  while  he  both  exhorted  and 
prayed.  I  am,  dear  sir,  your  very  sincere  friend  and 
servant,  William  Perronet." 

Mr.  Fletcher  adds  upon  the  paper  on  which  the  for- 
mer letter  is  written,  "Thanks  to  our  kind  Preserver,  I 
am  yet  in  the  land  of  faith  and  hope,  and  want  to  find 
and  make  it  a  land  of  happiness  and  love.  The  Lord 
Jesus  is  alone  sufficient  for  this.  And  till  the  great  out- 
pouring of  his  love  be  come,  we  ouadit  faithfully  to  stir 
up  the  gift  of  God  which  is  in  ourselves  and  others,  and 
to  supply,  by  the  depth  of  our  humility,  and  the  ardour 
of  our  expectation,  what  is  yet  wanting  to  our  experi- 
ence. Well,  God  is  good,  Jesus  is  faithful,  the  Spirit  is 
truth  and  love.  Come,  Lord  !  and  we  shall  experience 
the  power  of  that  God  who  turns  death  to  life,  darkness 
to  light,  weakness  to  strength  ;  and  calleth  the  things 
that  are  not  as  thovgh  they  were." 

33.  Feb.  2.  He  gives  the  following  account  of  the 
state  of  his  health,  and  of  his  proceedings,  to  Mr.  Ire- 
land : — "I  am  better,  thank  God,  and  ride  out  every  day 
when  the  slippery  roads  will  permit  me  to  venture  with- 
out the  risk  of  breaking  my  horse's  legs  and  my  own 
neck.  You  will  ask  me  how  I  have  spent  my  time?  I 
answer,  I  pray,  have  patience,  rejoice,  and  write  when  I 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


241 


can  ;  I  saw  wood  in  the  house  when  I  cannot  go  out, 
and  eat  grapes,  of  which  1  have  always  a  basket  by  me. 
Our  little  lord  lieutenant  has  forbidden  the  ministers  to 
let  me  exhort  in  the  parsonage,  because  it  is  the  sove- 
reign's house.  My  second  brother  has  addressed  a  me- 
morial to  him,  in  which  he  informs  him  that  he  will  give 
up  neither  his  religious  nor  civil  liberty,  and  will  open 
his  house  for  the  word  of  God  ;  and  accordingly  we  have 
since  met  at  his  house.  On  Sunday  we  met  at  the  young 
clergyman's,  who,  on  his  part,  writes  against  the  conduct 
of  the  clergy  ;  bull  fear  we  fence  against  a  wall  of  brass. 
However,  I  am  quite  persuaded  that  Providence  calls 
me  to  leave  a  testimony  to  my  French  brethren,  and  it 
may  be  of  some  use  when  I  shall  be  no  more.  I  have 
been  comforted  by  seeing  the  apology  of  a  minister  at 
Yvcrdon,  who  was  persecuted  in  the  beginning  of  this 
century,  under  the  name  of  Pietist.  I  have  got  acquaint- 
ed with  a  faithful  minister  of  Geneva,  but  he  dares  no 
more  offer  me  his  pulpit  than  my  brother-in-law  at 
Lausanne. 

"  The  Lord  was  not  in  the  forwardness  of  the  young 
man  I  mentioned.  It  was  but  a  fire  of  straw  ;  and  he 
has  now  avoided  me  for  some  weeks.  Several  young 
women  seemed  to  have  received  the  word  in  the  love  of 
it,  and  four  or  five  more  advanced  in  age;  but  not  one 
man,  except  the  young  hopeful  clergyman  I  mention, 
who  helps  me  at  my  little  meetings,  and  begins  to 
preach  extempore.  I  hope  he  will  stand  his  ground 
better  than  he  who  was  such  an  approver  when  you 
were  here,  and  is  now  dying,  after  having  drawn  back 
to  the  world. 

"The  truths  I  chiefly  insist  upon,  when  I  talk  to  the 
people  who  will  hear  me,  are  those  which  I  feed  upon 
myself  as  my  daily  bread.  'God,  our  Maker  and  Pre- 
server, though  invisible,  is  here  and  everywhere.  He 
is  our  chief  good,  because  all'  beauty  and  all  goodness 
centre  in  and  flow  from  him.  He  is  especially  love,  and 
love  in  us,  being  his  image,  is  the  sum  and  substance  of 
all  moral  and  spiritual  excellence,  of  all  true  and  lasting 
bliss.  In  Adam,  we  are  all  estranged  from  love  and 
from  God;  but  the  second  Adam,  Jesus  Emanuel,  God 
with  us,  is  come  to  make  us  know  and  enjoy  again  our 
God,  as  the  God  of  love  and  the  chief  good.    All  who 


342 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


receive  Jesus,  receive  power  to  become  the  sons  of 
God,  &c,  &c.' 

"I  hope  I  shall  be  able  to  set  out  for  England  with 
Mr.  Perronet  in  April  or  May.  O  that  I  may  find  that 
dear  island  in  peace  within  and  without!  Well,  I  hope 
you  make  peace  in  the  Church,  if  you  cannot  make 
peace  with  the  patriots.  God  is  a  good  God.  Do  you 
know,  the  coats  and  shoes  you  gave  me  have  lasted  all 
this  while,  and  are  yet  good?  so  that  I  need  not  draw 
upon  your  banker.  Thank  God  and  you  for  a  thousand 
favours!  God  bless  and  comfort  you,  my  dear  friend  ! 
We  are  poor  creatures,  but  we  have  a  good  God  to  cast 
all  our  burdens  upon,  and  who  often  burdens  us  that  we 
may  have  our  constant  and  free  recourse  to  his  bounty, 
power,  and  faithfulness.  Stand  fast  in  the  faith.  Be- 
Ireve  lovingly,  and  all  will  be  well.  Farewell. 

"  J.  F." 

A  few  days  after  he  writes  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Perronet, 
in  a  postscript  to  his  son's  letter  ; — "  I  have  had  the 
pleasure  of  accompanying  your  son  to  your  father's 
birth-place.  It  is  a  charming  country  for  those  who 
have  a  taste  for  highland  prospects  ;  but  what  is  it  to 
our  heavenly  Father's  hill  of  Sion  ?  Thither  may  we  all 
travel,  summer  and  winter,  and  there  may  we  all  have  a 
happy  meeting,  and  find  an  eternal  inheritance.  W  hether 
you  will  obtain  your  earthly  estate  in  these  parts  in 
possession,  as  it  is  yours  by  right,  is  yet  to  me  matter 
of  doubt.  A  little  time,  I  hope,  will  decide  the  question : 
and  as  Providence  will  throw  in  the  turning  weight,  it 
will  be  for  the  best,  which  way  soever  the  affair  ends. 
My  friend  is  tolerably  well,  and  I  hope  Providence  will 
bring  him  back  to  you  safe,  more  out  of  conceit  with 
the  vanity  of  earth ;  and  may  we  all  be  more  in  love 
with  the  blessings  of  heaven." 

34.  It  appears  that  in  the  latter  end  of  March,  Mr. 
Fletcher's  health  was  still  but  little  improved.  On  the 
29th  of  that  month  his  words  to  Mr.  Perronet  are  : — "  I 
am  still  weak  in  body,  but  able  to  ride  out,  and  exhort 
some  children,  through  Divine  mercy.  Well !  the  time 
shall  come  when,  in  a  better  state,  we  shall  be  able  to 
glorify  our  heavenly  Father.  In  the  meantime  let  us 
do  it  either  in  the  stocks  of  weakness,  or  in  the  fires  of 
tribulation.    And  on  our  deathbed  may  we  sing,  with  a 


LIFE  01   REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


243 


heart  overflowing  with  humble  love,  '  The  Resurrection 
and  the  Life,  the  Friend  and  Saviour  of  sinners,  loved 
me  and  gave  himself  for  me,  and  I  am  going  to  see  and 
thank  him  face  to  face  for  his  matchless  love.'  I  hope 
the  prospect,  with  respect  to  the  inheritance  of  your 
fathers,  in  this  country,  clears  up  a  little,  and  I  trust  tho 
matter  will  be  decided  without  a  lawsuit.  As  soon  as 
the  affair  is  brought  to  some  conclusion,  we  design  to 
set  out  for  England.  The  will  of  the  Lord  be  done  in 
all  things." 

35.  But  although  Mr.  Fletcher  had  hoped  to  be  able 
to  leave  Switzerland,  on  his  return  to  England,  in  April 
or  May,  and  it  seems  had  taken  measures  accordingly, 
he  was  constrained,  by  the  entreaties  of  his  friends,  and 
such  of  the  inhabitants  as  had  received  benefit  by  his 
labours,  to  prolong  his  stay  among  them.  "  I  have  com- 
plied," says  he,  May  18,  to  one  of  his  parishioners, 
"with  the  request  of  my  friends  to  stay  a  little  longer, 
as  it  was  backed  by  a  small  society  of  pious  people 
gathered  here.  Three  weeks  ago  they  got  about  me, 
and,  on  their  knees  with  many  tears,  besought  me  to 
stay  till  they  were  a  little  stronger,  and  able  to  stand 
alone ;  nor  would  they  rise  till  theyT  had  got  me  to  com- 
ply. Happy  would  it  be  for  us  all,  if  wre  prayed  as 
earnestly  to  Him  who  can  give  us  substantial  bless- 
ings." 

It  was  not,  however,  without  reluctance  that  he  con- 
sented, in  this  instance,  to  the  desire  of  his  friends.  The 
welfare  of  his  flock  at  Madeley  lay  near  his  heart,  and 
it  gave  him  much  uneasiness  to  be  so  long  absent  from 
them.  On  the  same  day  that  he  wrote  the  above,  he 
says  to  his  curate : — "  My  departure  being  delayed  some 
weeks  gives  me  much  concern,  although,  from  the  con- 
fidence I  have  in  your  pastoral  diligence,  I  am  easy 
about  the  flock  you  feed. 

"There  was  last  week  a  visitation  held  here,  and  the 
clergy  of  the  town  took  my  part  against  the  visiter  and 
others,  who  said,  '  I  was  of  a  sect  everywhere  spoken 
against.'  The  conversation  about  it  held  so  long,  and 
was  so  trying  to  my  grain  of  humility,  that  I  went  out. 
The  matter,  however,  ended  peaceably,  by  a  vote  that 
they  should  invite  me  to  dinner.  God  ever  save  us  from 
jealous  and  persecuting  zeal ! 


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LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


"I  hope,  my  dear  friend,  you  go  on  comfortably,  do- 
ing more  and  more  the  work  of  a  growing  evangelist. 
Remember  my  love  to  all  I  mentioned  in  my  last,  to  as 
many  of  my  parishioners  as  you  meet  with,  and  espe- 
cially to  all  our  good  neighbours,  and  to  the  society. 
God  bless  you  all;  and  enable  you  to  persevere  in 
prayer  for  yourself,  for  the  flock,  (which  I  once  more 
recommend  to  you,  with  the  lambs,  the  children,)  and 
for  your  affectionate  brother,  J.  F." 

36.  On  good  Friday,  there  being  no  service  at  Nyon, 
Mr.  Fletcher  and  his  friend  crossed  the  lake  into  Savoy, 
in  order  to  hear  a  celebrated  Capuchin,  who  was  to 
preach  that  day.  "  He  made,"  Mr.  Perronet  observes, 
"a  very  good  discourse  ;  and  afterward  he  and  his  bre- 
thren very  civilly  invited  us  to  dine  with  them.  This 
we  declined,  but  after  dinner  paid  our  respects  to  them, 
when  Mr.  Fletcher  spent  two  or  three  agreeable  hours 
with  them  in  serious  and  friendly  conversation." 

It  appears  by  the  letter  from  which  the  above  is 
copied,  dated  May  22d,  that  Mr.  Fletcher  was  then  much 
better  in  health  than  he  had  been  in  March.  On  the 
9th  of  that  month,  he  had  preached  in  the  church,  on 
2  Cor.  v,  20,  "  We  are  ambassadors,"  &c,  and  had 
spoken  with  a  strong  and  clear  voice  for  above  three 
quarters  of  an  hour,  and  yet  did  not  find  himself  hurt 
by  it.  "  Upon  the  whole,"  Mr.  Perronet  observes,  "  he 
has  preached  four  times  in  the  church  since  1  have  been 
here,  and  might  have  preached  much  oftener,  if  his 
health  would  have  allowed  him  ;  for  by  his  friendly  and 
prudent  conduct  toward  the  three  ministers  of  the  place, 
he  is  upon  good  terms  with  them  now,  although  at  his 
first  coming  hither  they  were  afraid  to  own  him,  on  ac- 
count of  his  irregular  conduct;  for  such  they  deemed 
his  exhorting  the  children  and  holding  meetings  in  pri- 
vate houses."  In  the  afternoon  of  the  day  last  men- 
tioned he  met  with  a  merciful  deliverance.  He  was 
riding  out  for  the  benefit  of  the  air,  when  his  horse 
fell  down  as  if  he  had  been  shot,  and  cut  both  his 
knees,  and  even  his  head,  in  a  terrible  manner.  Mr. 
Fletcher,  however,  providentially  escaped  without  the 
least  hurt. 

Mr.  Fletcher  adds  the  following  words  in  Mr.  William 
Perronet's  letter  to  his  father  of  May  22d  : — 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


245 


"  My  Very  Dear  Brother,  and  Honoured  Fa- 
ther,— I  rejoice  that  you  are  yet  preserved  to  be  a  wit- 
ness of  Jesus'  grace  and  saving  health.  Let  us  rejoice 
that  when  our  strength  shall  decay,  his  will  remain  en- 
tire for  ever  ;  and  in  his  strength,  we,  who  take  him  for 
our  life,  shall  be  strong.  Our  Redeemer  liveth,  and 
when  sickness  and  death  shall  have  brought  down  our 
flesh  to  the  earth,  we  shall,  by  his  resurrection's  power, 
rise  and  live  forever  with  him  in  heavenly  places.  For 
the  new  earth  will  be  a  heaven,  or  a  glorious  province 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  With  it  we  shall  be  restored 
to  paradisiacal  beauty,  and  tilled  with  righteousness. 
Well  :  the  meek  shall  inherit  it,  and  that  inheritance 
shall  be  fairer  than  yours  at  Chateau  d'Oex,  and  surer 
too.  I  hope  to  accompany  your  son  soon  to  England. 
Let  us  all  move  toward  our  one  heavenly  country,  by 
Christ,  who  is  the  only  way,  a  way  strait,  sure,  luminous, 
and  where  the  wayfaring  man,  though  a  fool,  will  have 
more  wisdom  than  all  the  teachers  of  the  mere  letter. 

"J.  F." 

Two  days  after  he  writes  to  Mr.  Greenwood  thus : — 
"  I  am  yet  alive,  able  to  ride  out,  and  now  and  then  to 
instruct  a  few  children.  I  hope  Mr.  Perronet  will  soon 
have  settled  his  affairs,  and  then,  please  God,  I  shall 
inform  you  by  word  of  mouth,  how  much  I  am  indebted 
to  you,  Mrs.  Greenwood,  and  Mrs.  Thornton.  I  know 
it  so  much  the  more  now,  as  I  have  made  trial  of  the 
kindness  of  my  relations  in  Adam  ;  those  in  Christ  ex- 
ceed them  as  far,  in  my  account,  as  grace  does  nature. 
Thank  and  salute  them  earnestly  from  me,  and  to  those 
of  your  own  household  please  to  add  Messrs.  John  and 
Charles  Wesley,  Dr.  Coke,  &c.  That  the  Lord  would 
fill  you  with  his  choicest  blessings,  as  you  have  done 
me,  is,  my  dear  friend,  the  earnest  prayer  of  your  poor 
pensioner,  J.  F." 

"P.  S.  Mr.  Perronet  wants  me  to  fill  up  his  letter. 
I  would  gladly  do  it,  but  at  this  time,  a  sleepless  night, 
and  a  constant  toothache  unfit  me  for  almost  any  thing, 
but  lying  down  under  the  cross,  kissing  the  rod,  and 
rejoicing  in  hope  of  a  better  state,  in  this  world  or  in 
the  next.  But  perhaps  weakness  and  pain  are  the  best 
for  me  in  this  world.  Well,  the  Lord  will  choose  for 
me,  and  I  fuljly  set  my  heart  and  seal  to  his  choice.  Let 


246 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


us  not  faint  in  the  day  of  adversity.  The  Lord  tries  us, 
that  our  faith  may  be  found  purged  from  all  the  dross  of 
self-will,  and  may  work  by  that  love  which  beareth  all 
things,  and  thinketh  evil  of  nothing.  Our  railing  is  to 
follow  the  crucified,  and  we  must  be  crucified  with  him, 
until  body  and  soul  know  the  power  of  his  resurrection, 
and  pain  and  death  are  done  away." 

38.  In  the  same  spirit,  and  about  the  same  time,  he 
says  to  another  friend,  "  Let  us  bear  with  patience  the 
decays  of  nature  :  let  us  see,  without  fear,  the  approach 
of  death.  We  must  put  off  this  sickly  corruptible  body, 
in  order  to  put  on  the  immortal  and  glorious  garment. 

"  I  have  some  hopes  that  my  poor  sister  will  yet  be 
my  sister  in  Christ.  Her  self-righteousness,  I  trust, 
breaks  as  fast  as  her  body.  I  am  come  hither  to  see 
death  make  havoc  among  my  friends.  I  wear  mourning 
for  my  father's  brother,  and  for  my  brother's  son.  The 
same  mourning  will  serve  me  for  my  dying  sister, 
if  I  do  not  go  before  her.  She  lies  on  the  same  bed 
where  my  father  and  mother  died,  and  where  she  and  I 
were  born.  How  near  is  life  to  death  !  but,  blessed  be 
Ood,  Christ,  the  resurrection,  is  nearer  to  the  weak, 
dying  believer  !  Death  works  through  the  body,  and 
the  resurrection  through  the  soul  :  and  our  soul  is  our 
real  self." 

39.  July  18,  he  writes: — "Providence  is  still  gracious 
to  me,  and  raises  me  friends  on  all  sides.  May  Cod 
reward  them  all,  and  may  you  have  a  doable  reward  for 
all  your  kindness.  I  hope  I  am  getting  a  little  strength. 
The  Lord  has  blessed  to  me  a  species  of  black  cherry, 
which  I  have  eaten  in  large  quantities.  For  a  fortnight 
past  I  have  catechised  the  children  of  the  town  every 
day  ;  and  I  do  not  find  much  inconvenience  from  that 
exercise.  Some  of  them  seem  to  be  under  sweet  draw- 
ings of  the  Father,  and  a  few  of  their  mothers  begin  to 
come,  and  desire  me,  with  tears  in  their  eyes,  to  stay  in 
this  country.  They  urge  much  my  being  born  here  ; 
and  I  reply  that  as  I  was  born  again  in  England,  that 
is,  of  course,  the  country  which  to  me  is  the  dearer  of 
the  two.  My  friends  have  prevailed  on  me  to  publish 
a  poem  on  the  praises  of  God,  which  I  wrote  many 
years  ago.  The  revising  it  for  the  press  is  at  once  a 
business  and  a  pleasure  which  I  go  through  on  horse- 


LI  FF  OF  RET.  X.  FLETCHER. 


247 


back.  Help  me  by  your  prayers  to  ask  a  blessmg  oe 
this  little  attempt  ;  and  may  the  God  of  all  grace,  who 
deserves  so  much  our  praises  for  the  unspeakable  gift 
of  his  dear  Son,  give  us  such  a  spirit  of  thankful  praise, 
thai  wc  may  bless  and  praise  him  as  David  did  for- 
merly." 

40.  In  the  beginning  of  September  Mr.  "William  Per- 
ronet  wrote  a  little  farther  account  of  him  : — "  Mr. 
Fletcher  has  been  wont  to  preach  now  and  then,  in  the 
church  here,  (Nyon,)  at  the  request  of  one  or  other  o-f 
the  ministers.  But  some  time  ago  he  was  summoned 
before  the  Seigneur  Bailiff,  who  sharply  reprehended 
him  for  preaching  against  Sabbath-breaking  and  stage 
plays.  The  former,  he  said,  implied  a  censure  on  the 
magistrates  in  general,  as  if  they  neglected  their  duty. 
And  the  latter  he  considered  as  a  personal  reflection  on 
himself,  he  having  just  then  sent  for  a  set  of  French 
comedians  to  Nyon.  Accordingly  he  forbade  Mr.  Flet- 
cher to  exercise  any  more  any  of  the  functions  of  a 
minister  in  this  country.  However,  one  of  the  ministers 
here  has  given  him  a  room  in  his  own  house  to  preach 
in.  Here  Mr.  Fletcher  meets  a  few  serious  persons, 
particularly  a  number  of  children,  two  or  three  times  a 
week.  And  hereto, his  lordship  has  not  thought  proper 
to  interfere  with  respect  to  this  mode  of  exhortation. 
And  both  the  number  and  the  seriousness  of  the  congre- 
gation increase  daily." 

Some  time  after  Mr.  Fletcher  speaks  of  this  as  fol- 
lows : — "  Our  lord  lieutenant,  being  stirred  up  by  some 
of  the  clergy,  and  believing  firmly  that  I  am  banished 
from  England,  took  the  alarm,  and  forbade  the  ministers 
to  let  me  exhort  in  their  houses  ;  threatening  them  with 
the  power  of  the  senate  if  they  did.  They  all  yielded, 
but  are  now  ashamed  of  it.  A  young  clergyman,  a  true 
Timothy,  has  opened  me  his  house,  where  I  exhort  twioe 
a  week  ;  and  the  other  clergymen,  encouraged  by  his 
boldness,  come  to  our  meetings." 

41.  According  to  Mr.  Perronet,  the  minister  by  whom 
the  opposition  was  begun,  died  suddenly  soon  afterward, 
as  he  was  dressing  to  go  to  church.  "But  this  awful 
providence,"  adds  he,  "  has  had  so  little  effect,  that  the 
clergyman  who  succeeds  him  has  likewise  publicly  op- 
posed Mr.  Fletcher  ;  who  now  thinks  himself  obliged, 


248 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


before  he  leaves  his  native  country,  to  bear  a  public 
testimony  to  the  truth."  He  seems  to  mean  chiefly  by 
writing :  for  he  observes  in  the  same  letter : — "  Mr. 
Fletcher  is  engaged  in  writing  something  for  the  edifica- 
tion of  his  friends  in  this  country  ;  but  when  it  will  be 
finished  I  cannot  say,  for  it  multiplies  daily  under  his 
fertile  pen  ;  so  that  I  fear  we  shall  be  obliged  to  spend 
another  winter  in  this  severe  climate." 

42.  It  appears,  by  sundry  letters  which  passed  be- 
tween Mr.  Fletcher  and  Mr.  William  Perronet,  (who 
was  then  at  Lausanne,)  which  letters  are  now  before  me, 
that  during  a  part  of  this  month  Mr.  Fletcher  was  much 
afflicted  by  a  rheumatic  pain,  which  had  settled  on  his 
left  shoulder,  and  had  been  so  severe  as  to  deprive  him 
of  sleep,  and  almost  to  cripple  him.  However,  says  he, 
"  I  find  it  a  good  goad  to  make  me  go  to  the  Spring  of 
help,  health,  and  comfort."  A  fortnight  after,  (Novem- 
ber 18th,)  he  says: — "Thank  God,  I  have  partly  re- 
covered the  use  of  my  shoulder,  though  it  is  still  very 
weak.  I  drink  a  decoction  of  pine  apple,  from  the  tree, 
which  is  as  warm  as  guaiacum.  My  writing  does  not 
go  on  :  but  the  will  of  the  Lord  is  done,  and  that  is 
enough.  I  would  press  you  to  come  back  soon,  if  I 
were  not  persuaded  you  are  better  where  you  are.  "  I 
have  been  afraid  our  bad  meat  here  would  make  you 
lose  your  flesh,  and,  for  the  honour  of  Switzerland,  I 
should  be  glad  you  had  some  to  carry  back  to  England, 
if  we  live  to  go  and  see  our  friends  there." 

December  2d,  he  says: — "I  have  recovered  the  use 
of  my  arm,  blessed  be  God.  But  I  see  the  Lord  will  not 
use  me  in  this  country  for  good.  [The  Lord  certainly 
used  him  more  than  he  was  aware.]  And  when  we  shall 
have  done  our  little  matters,  I  shall  be  glad  to  go  to  my 
spiritual  friends,  and  to  my  flock.  The  Lord  direct  us 
in  all  things.    O,  for  quietness  and  English  friends  !" 

43.  "  I  believe,"  says  Mr.  Wesley,  "  it  was  about  this 
time  that  a  remarkable  passage  occurred,  which  was 
related  to  me  some  years  ago.  I  may  possibly  have 
forgot  some  circumstances  ;  but  the  substance  of  it  was 
this  : — Mr.  Fletcher,  having  heard  of  a  minister  in  the 
country  as  an  eminently  pious  man,  had  a  great  desire 
to  see  him,  and  for  that  purpose  one  morning  set  out  very 
early.    When  he  had  walked  several  miles,  he  saw  a 


*.ife  of  rev.  j.  fletciier. 


249 


great  crowd  gathered  together  at  the  door  of  a  house. 
He  asked  what  was  the  matter.  And  was  answered, 
'  A  poor  woman  and  a  child  lie  dying.'  He  went  in 
am!  found  a  woman  who  had  not  long  been  delivered,  in 
appearance  very  near  death.  Little  better  was  the  case 
of  the  infant,  which  was  convulsed  from  head  to  foot. 
The  room  was  filled  with  people.  He  took  occasion  to 
show  them,  from  that  melancholy  spectacle,  the  dread- 
ful effects  of  sin  :  and  afterward  spoke  largely  of  the 
miserable  state  we  are  all  i»  through  the  sin  of  our  first 
parents.  He  then  expatiated  on  the  second  Adam,  and 
the  blessings  we  may  receive  through  him  :  adding,  '  He 
is  able  to  raise  the  dead!  He  is  able  to  save  you  all 
from  sin,  as  well  as  to  save  these  two  poor  objects  from 
death.  Come,  let  us  ask  him  to  save  both  us  and  them.' 
He  found  remarkable  liberty  in  prayer.  Presently  the 
child's  convulsions  ceased  ;  and  the  mother  was  easy, 
lively,  and  strong.  The  people  were  utterly  amazed, 
and  stood  speechless  and  almost  senseless  !  While  they 
were  in  this  state  he  silently  withdrew.  When  they 
came  to  themselves  he  was  gone.  Many  of  them  asked 
•*  who  it  could  be  ;'  and  some  said,  'Certainly  it  was  an 
angel.' " 

44.  The  following  letter,  written  to  a  nobleman  in  this 
kingdom,  and  dated  Nyon,  December  15th,  1779,  is  well 
worth  inserting  here,  both  because  it  shows  Mr.  Fletch- 
er's opinion  on  a  great  political  question,  which  was 
warmly  debated  in  England  at  that  time,  and  because  it 
contains  other  important  information  : — 

"My  Lord, — If  the  American  colonics  and  the  West 
India  islands  are  rent  from  the  crown,  there  will  not 
grow  one  ear  of  corn  the  less  in  Great  Britain.  We 
shall  still  have  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  what  is  more, 
the  Gospel,  and  liberty  to  hear  it.  If  the  great  springs 
of  trade  and  wealth  are  cut  off,  good  men  will  bear  that 
loss  without  much  sorrow  ;  for  springs  of  wealth  are 
always  springs  of  luxury,  which,  sooner  or  later,  destroy 
the  empires  corrupted  by  wealth.  Moral  good  may 
come  out  of  our  losses  :  I  wish  you  may  see  it  in  Eng- 
land. People  on  the  continent  imagine  they  see  it  al- 
ready in  the  English  on  their  travels,  who  are  said  to 
behave  with  more  wisdom,  and  less  haughtiness,  that 
.they  were  used  to  do. 

11* 


2S0 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J»  FLETCHER. 


■"  Last  year  saw  the  death  of  three  great  men  of  these 
parts — Rousseau,  Voltaire,  and  Baron  Haller,  a  senator 
of  Berne.  The  last,  who  is  not  much  known,  I  think,  in 
England,  was  a  great  philosopher,  a  profound  politician, 
and  an  agreeable  poet:  but  he  was  particularly  famous 
for  his  skill  in  botany,  anatomy,  and  physic.  He  has 
enriched  the  republic  of  letters  by  such  a  number  of 
publications  in  Latin  and  German,  that  the  catalogue 
of  them  is  alone  a  pamphlet. 

"This  truly  great  man  has  given  another  proof  of  the 
truth  of  Lord's  Bacon's  assertion,  that  'although  stnat- 
terers  in  philosophy  are  often  impious,  true  philosophers 
are  always  religious.'  I  have  met  with  an  old,  pious, 
apostolic  clergyman,  who  was  intimate  with  the  baron, 
and  used  to  accompany  him  over  the  Alps,  in  his  ram- 
bles after  the  wonders  of  nature.  i  With  what  pleasure,' 
said  the  minister,  'did  we  admire  and  adore  the  wisdom 
of  the  God  of  nature,  and  sanctify  our  researches  by  the 
sweet  praises  of  the  God  of  grace !' 

"  When  the  emperor  passed  this  way  he  stabbed  Vol- 
taire to  the  heart  by  not  paying  him  a  visit ;  but  he 
waited  on  Haller,  was  two  hours  with  him,  and  heard 
from  him  such  pious  talk  as  he  never  heard  from  half 
the  philosophers  of  the  age.  The  baron  was  then  ill  of 
the  disorder  which  afterward  carried  him  off. 

"  Upon  his  deathbed  he  went  through  sore  conflicts 
about  his  interest  in  Christ ;  and  sent  to  the  old  minister, 
requesting  his  most -fervent  prayers,  and  wishing  him  to 
find  the  way  through  the  dark  valley  smoother  than  he 
found  it  himself.  However,  in  his  last  moments  he  ex- 
pressed a  renewed  confidence  in  God's  mercy,  through 
Christ,  and  died  in  peace.  The  old  clergyman  added 
that  he  thought  the  baron  went  through  this  conflict  to 
humble  him  thoroughly,  and  perhaps  to  chastise  him 
for  having  sometimes  given  way  to  a  degree  of  self-com- 
placence at  the  thought  of  his  amazing  parts,  and  of  the 
respect  they  procured  him  from  the  learned  world.  He 
was  obliged  to  become  last  in  his  own  eyes,  that  he  might 
become  first  and  truly  great  in  the  sight  of  .the  Lord.  I 
am,  my  lord,  &c,,  J.  F." 

45.  Mr.  Fletcher's  concern  for  the  spiritual  good  of 
his  flock  would  not  suffer  him  to  rest  many  weeks  with- 
out inquiring  after  their  welfare.    On  Christmas  day  he 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


251 


writes  to  Mr.  Greaves  : — "Though  absent  in  body,  I  am 
with  you  and  the  flock  in  the  spirit.  You  are  now  at 
the  Lord's  table  : — O,  may  all  the  dear  souls  you  have 
just  now  preached  to  receive  Jesus  Christ  in  the  pledge 
of  his  dying  love ;  and  go  home  with  this  lively  convic- 
tion, '  God  has  given  me  eternal  life,  and  this  life  is  in 
his  Son.  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  life  :  /  have  the 
Son,  /  have  life,  even  eternal  life. 

"  Glory  be  to  God  in  heaven  !  Peace  on  earth  !  Love 
and  good  will  everywhere ;  but  especially  in  the  spot 
where  Providence  has  called  us  to  cry,  Behold!  what 
manner  of  love  the  Father  has  testified  to  us,  in  Jesus, 
that  ive,  childre7i  of  wrath,  should  be  wade  children  of 
God,  by  that  only  begotten  Son  of  the  Most  High  who 
•was  born  for  our  regeneration,  crucified  for  our  atone- 
ment, raised  for  our  justification,  and  now  triumphs  in 
heaven  for  our  full  redemption,  and  for  our  eternal  glo- 
rification. To  him  be  glory  for  ever  and  ever  ;  and 
may  all.  mho /ear  and. love  him. about  you,  say  for  ever, 
Amen!  Hallelujah.! 

"Out  of  the  fulness  of  my  heart  I  invite  them  to  do 
,so  ;  but  how  shallow-is  my  fulness  to  bis  !  What  a  drop 
to  an  ocean  without  bottom  or  shore !  Let  us,  then,  re- 
*eive  continually  from  him,  who  is  the  overflowing  and 
ever  present  source  of  pardoning,  sanctifying,  and  ex- 
hilarating grace  ;  and  from  the  foot  of  the  Wrekin, 
where  you  are,  to  the  foot  of  the  Alps,  where  I  am,  let 
us  echo  back  to  each  other  the  joyful,  thankful  cry  of 
the  primitive  Christians,  (which  was  the  text  here  this 
morning,)  Out  of  his  fulness  we  have  received  grace 
for  grace. 

"I  long  to  hear  from  you  and  the  flock.  Answer  this 
and  my  last  together ;  and  let  me  know  ;that  you  cast 
joyfully  your  burdens  on  the  Lord. 

"Give  my  kind  pastoral  love  to  all  my  people  in  gen- 
eral, and  to  all  who  fear  God  and  love  Jesus,  and  the 
brethren  in  particular.  May  all  see,  and  see  more 
abundantly,  the  salvation  of  God.  May  national  dis- 
tress be  sanctified  unto  them  ;  and  may  they  all  be  loyal 
subjects  of  . the  King  of  kings,  and  of  bis  anointed,  our 
Jiing.  May  the  approaching  new  year  be  to  them  a 
year  of  peace  and  Gospel  grace.    That  you  and  the 


252 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FL'ETCRE'R. 


flock  may  Aire  well  in  Jesus,  is  the  hearty  prayer  of 
yours,  J-  F." 

March  7,  1780,  he  says  again: — "I  long  to  hear  from 
you.  I  hope  you  are  well,  and  grow  in  the  love  of 
Christ,  and  of  the  souls  bought  with  his  blood,  and  com- 
mitted to  your  care.  May  you  have  the  comfort  of 
bringing  them  all  into  the  pastures  of  the  Gospel,  and 
seeing  them  thrive  under  your  pastoral  care.  I  recom- 
mend to  your  care  the  most  helpless  of  the  flock, — I 
mean  the  children  and  the  sick.  They  most  want  your 
help,  and  they  are  the  most  likely  to  benefit  by  it ;  for 
affliction  softens  the  heart ;  and  children  are  not  yet 
quite  hardened  through  the  deceitfulness  of  sin. 

"I  beg  you  will  not  fail,  when  you  have  opportunity, 
to  recommend  to  our  flock  to  honour  the  king,  to  study  to 
be  quiet,  and  to  hold  up,  as  much  as  lies  in  us,  the  hands 
of  the  government  by  which  we  are  protected.  Re- 
member me  kindly  to  Mr.  Gilpin,  and  to  all  our  parish- 
ioners. God  give  you  peace  by  all  means,  as,  in  his 
mercy,  he  does  to  your  affectionate  friend  and  fellow- 
labourer,  J.  F." 

**  Thus  we  see  Mr.  Fletcher  was  a  good  subject,  as 
well  as  a  good  Christian,  and  was  as  attentive  to  his 
duty  to  his  king  and  country  as  to  his  God.  Indeed, 
these  virtues  cannot  be  separated.  They  that  attempt 
to  separate  them  only  show  that  they  are  properly  pos- 
sessed of  neither. 

46.  In  what  has  already  been  related,  we  have  had 
ample  and  continual  evidence  of  the  spirituality  of  Mr. 
Fletcher's  mind,  and  of  the  fervour  and  elevation  of  his 
piety.  We  may  also  observe,  in  several  of  his  let- 
ters, and  in  all  his  intercourse  with  his  friends  and  oth- 
ers, the  most  manifest  proofs  of  the  greatest  integrity 
and  most  strict  justice.  The  following  paragraph 
among  others  that" might  be  produced,  appearing  in  a 
letter  now  before  me,  written  to  one  of  his  parishioners 
at  this  time,  is  a  striking  instance  of  this. 

Referring  to  a  building  which  he  had  erected  in  Made- 
l'ey  Wood  for  a  school,  and  for  the  accommodation  of 
those  of  his  parishioners  who  wished  to  assemble  to  re- 
ceive the  word  of  exhortation  on  the  evening  of  the 
Lord's  day,  and  of  some  other  days  of  the  week,  he 
•says  : — "I  am  sorry  the  building  has  come  to  so  much 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


253 


more  than  I  intended  :  but,  as  the  mischief  is  done,  it  is 
a  matter  to  exercise  patience,  resignation,  and  self-de- 
nial;  and  it  will  be  a  caution  in  future.  I  am  going  to 
sell  part  of  my  little  estate  here  to  discharge  the  debt. 
I  had  laid  by  fifty  pounds  to  print  a  small  work,  which 
I  wanted  to  distribute  here;  but  as  I  must  be  just,  be- 
fore I  presume  to  offer  that  mite  to  the  God  of  truth,  I 
lay  by  the  design,  and  shall  send  that  sum  to  Mr.  York. 
Money  is  so  scarce  here  at  this  time  that  I  shall  sell  at 
a  very  great  loss  ;  but  necessity  and  justice  are  two 
great  laws  which  must  be  obeyed.  As  I  design,  on  my 
return  to  England,  to  pinch  until  I  have  got  rid  of  this 
debt,  I  may  go  and  live  in  one  of  the  cottages  belonging 
to  the  vicar,  if  we  could  let  the  vicarage  for  a  few 
pounds  ;  and  in  that  case,  I  dare  say,  Mr.  Greaves  would 
be  so  good  as  to  take  the  other  little  house." 

it  appears,  however,  by  some  of  his  subsequent  let- 
ters, that  his  friend,  Mr.  Ireland,  (always  a  friend  in 
need  !)  having  heard  of  it,  stepped  forward,  unknown  to 
him,  and  discharged  the  greatest  part  of  this  debt  for 
him.  This  letter,  however,  he  cannot  conclude  without 
giving  his  friend  some  spiritual  advice: — "My  dear 
friend,"  adds  he,  "let  us  die  unto  sin,  hold  fast  Jesus, 
the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life,  walk  by  faith  in  him, 
.and  not  by  the  sight  and  passions  of  the  old  Adam.  I 
hope  the  sun  of  affliction,  which  burns  poor  England 
and  us,  will  ripen  us  all  for  glory.  Give  my  best  love 
to  all  our  friends  in  Christ,  and  tell  them  that  the  hope 
of  seeing  them  does  me  good,  and  that  I  trust  they  will 
not  turn  it  into  bitterness  ;  the  which  would  be  the  case, 
if  I  should  find  them  out  of  the  narrow  way,  and  out  of 
the  kingdom  of  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the 
Lord." 

47.  The  reader  will  observe  that  till  about  the  close 
of  the  preceding  year,  (the  year  1779,)  Mr.  Fletcher  and 
Mr.  William  Perronet  had  generally  lodged  in  one  house 
in  Nyon.  But,  about  the  beginning  of  this  year,  (1780,) 
they  were  obliged  to  be  separated.  Of  this  Mr.  Perro- 
net speaks  to  his  father  thus,  in  July  following: — 

"I  think  it  was  about  half  a  year  ago  that  we  broke 
up  housekeeping  at  Nyon.  Poor  dear  Mr.  Fletcher  with 
difficulty  procured  a  miserable  lodging  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, and  I  was  obliged  to  go  to  Lausanne,  which  if 


554 


XIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETcnEH. 


seven  leagues  from  Nyon.  I  submitted  the  more  will- 
ingly to  this,  as  at  that  time  he  talked  of  spending  some 
time  at  Lausanne.  But  though  I  have  been  disappointed 
in  this  respect,  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him 
once  or  twice  at  Nyon.  I  found  him  to-day  sitting  in 
his  small  apartment,  surrounded  with  books  and  papers, 
writing,  or  as  he  ■expressed  fit,  '  finishing'  .the  first  part 
of  one  of  his  pieces  :  so,  when  the  whole  is  likely  to  be 
•concluded  one  cannot  pretend  to  say." 

48.  Mr.  Fletcher  had  intended  leaving  Nyon  in  Sep- 
tember next  ensuing,  in  order  to  return  to  England  ;  but 
he  then  unexpectedly  met  with  two  hinderances.  One 
was,  that  when  he  came  to  collect  the  different  parts  of 
the  manuscript,  just  referred  to,  which  he  had  designed 
to  print  and  distribute  before  he  left  the  country,  he 
found  the  greatest  part  of  it  wanting,  and  after  very 
•many  searches  he  was  obliged  to  write  it  over  again.* 
This  event  obliged  him  to  delay  his  journey  some  weeks. 
Secondly,  change  of  weather  brought  back  some  symp- 
toms of  his  disorder ;  insomuch  that  he  spoke,  or  even 
whispered,  with  difficulty.  He  began,  however,  to  eat 
grapes  plentifully,  as  he  had  done  the  two  preceding 
autumns,  (his  own  little  vineyard  having  produced  an 
astonishing  quantity  in  the  latter  of  those  years,)  and  it 
appears  they  became,  through  the  Divine  blessing,  the 
chief  mean  of  his  restoration.  Add  to  this,  his  friend, 
Mr.  Ireland,  urged  that,  if  he  returned  to  England  at 
that  season  of  the  year,  in  all  probability  the  winter 
would  undo  all  that  he  and  his  friends  had  been  doing 
for  the  restoration  of  his  health,  for  many  years.  "  How- 
ever," says  he  to  Mr.  Greaves,  Sept.  15,  after  mention- 
ing the  above  circumstances,  "I  have  not  quite  laid 
aside  the  design  of  spending  the  winter  at  Madeley ; 
and  I  am,  at  least,  firmly  purposed  that  if  I  do  not  set 

*  Mr.  Fletcher  himself,  .in  a  letter  to  Mr.  William  Perronet, 
•dated  September  20,  speaks  of  this  as  follows: — "  The  misfortune 
I  hint  at  in  my  French  letter,  is  the  mislaying  of  a  considerable 
part  of  my  manuscript.  After  a  thousand  searches,  giving  it  up 
as  lost,  I  fell  to  work  again ;  went  through  the  double  toil,  and 
■when  I  had  done,  last  night,  I  accidentally  found  what  I  had  mis- 
.laid.  This  has  thrown  me  back  a  great  deal.  The  Lord's  will  be 
done  in  all  things.  I  thank  God,  I  have  been  kept  from  fretting 
on  the  occasion  j  though  I  would  not,  for  a  great  deal,  have  such 
;another  trial." 


-LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLBTCHKK. 


266 


•cut  t"his  autumn,  I  will  do  so,  God  willing,  next  spring 
as  early  as  I  can.  Till  I  had  this  relapse  I  was  able, 
thank  God,  to  exhort  in  a  private  room  three  times  a 
week :  but  the  lord  lieutenant  will  not  allow  me  to  get 
into  a  pulpit,  though  they  permit  the  schoolmaster*, 
who  arc  laymen,  to  put  on  a  band,  and  read  the  Church 
prayers  ;  so  high  runs  the  prejudice.  The  clergy,  how- 
ever, tell  me  that  if  I  will  renounce  my  ordination,  and 
get  Presbyterian  orders  among  them,  they  will  allow 
ine  to  preach  ;  and  on  these  terms  one  of  the  ministers 
of  this  town  offers  me  his  curacy.  A  young  clergyman 
of  Geneva,  tutor  to  my  nephew,  appears  to  me  a  truly 
converted  man  ;  and  he  is  so  pleased  when  I  tell  him 
there  are  converted  souls  in  England,  that  he  will  go 
over  with  me  to  learn  English,  and  converse  with  the 
British  Christians.  He  wrote  last  summer  with  such 
force  to  some  of  the  clergy,  who  were  stirring  up  the 
fire  of  persecution  that  he  made  them  ashamed,  and  wc 
have  since  had  peace  from  that  quarter. 

"There  is  little  genuine  piety  in  these  parts  :  never- 
theless, there  is  yet  some  of  the  form  of  it  ;  so  far  that 
•they  go  to  the  Lord's  table  regularly  four  times  a  year. 
There  meet  the  adulterers,  the  drunkards,  the  swearers, 
the  infidels,  and  even  the  materialists.  They  have  no 
•idea  of  the  double  damnation  that  awaits  hypocrites. 
They  look  upon  partaking  that  sacrament  as  a  ceremony 
enjoined  by  the  magistrate.  At  Zurich,  the  first  town 
of  this  country,  they  have  lately  beheaded  a  clergyman, 
who  wanted  to  betray  his  country  to  the  emperor,  to 
whom  it  chiefly  belonged.  It  is  the  town  of  the  great 
•reformer,  Zuinglius  :  yet  there  they  poisoned  the  sacra- 
mental wine  a  few  years  ago.  Tell  it  not  in  Gath  !  I 
mention  this  to  show  you  that  there  is  occasion  and  great 
need  to  bear  a  testimony  against  the  faults  of  the  clergy 
here  ;  and  if  I  cannot  do  it  from  the  pulpit,  I  must  try 
to  do  it  from  the  press.  Their  canons,  which  were 
composed  by  two  hundred  and  thirty  pastors,  at  the  time 
of  the  Reformation,  are  so  spiritual  and  apostolic,  that  I 
design  to  translate  them  into  English,  if  I  am  spared. 

"  Farewell,  my  dear  brother.  Take  care,  good,  con- 
stant care,  of  the  flock  committed  to  your  charge,  espe- 
cially the  tick  and  the  young.  Salute  all  our  dear  pa- 
rishioners.   Let  me  still  have  a  part  in  your  prayers. 


256 


LIFE  OF  UEV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


public  and  private  ;  and  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  as,  through 
grace,  I  am  enabled  to  do  in  all  my  little  tribulations. 

"J.  F." 

49.  To  another  friend  in  his  parish  he  writes  the  same 
day  : — "  You  see,  by  my  letter  to  Mr.  Greaves  that  I  am 
in  good  hopes  of  seeing  you.  at  the  latest,  next  spring. 
I  have  been  so  well,  that  my  friends  here  thought  of 
giving  me  a  wife  ;  but  what  should  I  do  with  a  Swiss 
wife  at  Madeley?  I  want,  rather,  an  English  nurse,  but 
more  still,  a  mighty  Saviour  ;  and  thanks  be  to  God  that 
I  have  one.  Help  me  to  rejoice  in  that  never  dying, 
never  moving  Friend." 

To  the  pious  of  his  parish,  and  the  neighbourhood 
formed  into  religious  societies,  he  says  at  the  same  time  : 
"I  am  still  in  a  strait  between  the  work,  which  Provi- 
dence cuts  out  for  me  here,  and  the  love  which  draws 
me  to  you.  When  I  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
you,  let  it  not  be  embittered  by  the  sorrow  of  finding 
any  of  you  half-hearted  and  lukewarm.  Let  me  find 
you  all  strong  in  the  Lord,  and  increased  in  humble 
love.  Salute  from  me  all  that  followed  with  us  fifteen 
years  ago.  Care  still  for  your  old  brethren.  Let  there 
be  no  Cain  among  you,  no  Esau,  no  Lot's  wife.  Let 
the  love  of  David  and  Jonathan,  heightened  by  that  of 
Martha,  Mary,  Lazarus,  and  our  Lord,  shine  in  all  your 
thoughts,  your  tempers,  your  words,  your  looks,  and 
your  actions.  If  you  love  one  another,  your  little  meet- 
ings will  be  a  renewed  feast ;  and  the  God  of  love,  who 
is  peculiarly  present  where  two  or  three  are  gathered 
together  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  in  the  spirit  of  love, 
will  abundantly  bless  you.  Bear  me  still  upon  your 
breasts  in  prayer,  as  I  do  you  upon  mine  ;  and  rejoice 
with  me,  that  the  Lord  who  made,  redeemed,  and  com- 
forts us,  bears  its  all  vpon  his.    I  am  yours,  in  him, 

"J.  F." 

50.  In  consequence  of  information  received  about  this 
time  from  Mr.  Ireland,  that  he  and  his  family  purposed 
spending  the  ensuing  winter  in  the  south  of  France, 
which,  notwithstanding  the  war,  they  had  obtained  leave 
to  do,  and  even  to  go  anywhere,  save  to  a  seaport,  Mr. 
Fletcher  writes  to  his  friend,  Mr.  William  Perronet, 
thus : — "  If  you  will  go  and  join  Mr.  Ireland,  I  should  be 
;glad  to  do  it,  for  the  stream  under  my  house  prevents  it 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


257 


from  being  very  wholesome.  I  am,  however,  better  of 
my  cold,  thank  God.  My  brother  thinks  you  may  con- 
clude [referring  to  the  matters  in  dispute  between  him 
and  the  coheirs]  upon  the  terms  you  mention.  '  Better 
a  dinner  of  herbs  with  peace,  than  a  stalled  ox  and  noise 
therewith.'  I  hope  to  go  to  Lausanne  immediately  after 
vintage,  to  offer  a  manuscript  to  the  censors,  to  see  if 
they  will  allow  of  its  being  published  :*  so  I  don't  invite 
you  to  come  and  share  my  damp  bed.  My  sister  was 
so  kind  as  to  look  for  another  house,  but  could  find  none 
to  let  for  a  less  term  than  that  of  a  year.  We  are  here 
travellers,  so  we  must  expect  some  difficulties,  and  a 
great  many  inconveniences." 

51.  Soon  afterward  this  amiable  and  excellent  man, 
like  several  of  his  other  brothers,  who  died  young,  fell 
into  a  very  poor  state  of  health.  December  5th,  follow- 
ing, Mr.  Fletcher  writes  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Vin.  Perronet 
thus  : — "  Our  wise  and  good  God  sees  fit  to  try  my  dear 
friend,  your  son,  with  a  want  of  appetite  and  uneasiness 
in  his  bowels,  which  makes  him  often  return  the  little 
food  he  takes.  He  came  some  time  ago  hither  from 
Lausanne,  and  we  went  to  Geneva  together,  where  we 
settled  your  aifair  with  three  of  the  Geneva  coheirs, 
npon  the  same  footing  he  had  settled  with  those  of  Cha- 
teau d'Oex.  When  my  friend  shall  be  a  little  better,  he 
will  give  you  a  more  particular  account.  He  bears  his 
weakness  with  so  much  patience  and  resignation,  that 
my  sister-in-law  (who  is  an  English  woman)  is  quite 
edified." 

On  the  same  paper  Mr.  Perronet  writes : — "  I  have 
been  here  near  two  months,  and  most  part  of  the  time 
(so  it  has  pleased  God)  in  much  pain  and  weakness. 
The  irregularity  and  severity  of  the  climate,  added  to  the 
fatigue  and  distress  I  have  undergone,  have  greatly  im- 
paired my  health.  But  I  desire  to  submit  to  the  will  of 
the  Lord,  knowing  that  it  is  better  to  fall  into  his  hands, 
than  into  the  hands  of  man.  I  am  with  Mr.  Fletcher's 
relations,  who  are  extremely  kind  to  me." 

*  Such  was,  and  I  believe  still  is,  the  liberty  of  the  press  in 
Switzerland,  although  judged  one  of  the  freest  countries  in  the 
world  !  A  blessed  instance,  like  that  above  mentioned  respect- 
ing the  arbitrary  and  persecuting  measures  of  the  Seigneur  Bailiff, 
of  republican  liberty !  Who  would  not  wish  for  the  same  in 
England ! 


258 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


On  January  22 J,  1781,  he  writes  : — "  I  continue  under 
such  weakness,  and  am  frequently  in  such  great  pain,  as 
to  my  stomach  and  bowels,  attended  at  times  with  such 
violent  fits  of  vomiting,  that  I  am  at  present  but  little 
able  to  undertake  the  journey  Mr.  Ireland  so  earnestly 
presses  on  Mr.  Fletcher  and  myself,  to  join  him  in  the 
south  of  France.  I  know  what  it  is  to  travel  in  this 
country,  and  in  France,  in  the  depth  of  winter.  We 
have  bad  roads,  cold,  wet,  uncomfortable  inns,  frequently 
a  want  of  the  most  common  necessaries  :  and,  I  might 
add,  sometimes  even  damp  beds  ;  which  would  ill  suit 
either  me  or  Mr.  Fletcher.  I  have  the  greatest  reason 
to  be  thankful  for  the  kindness  I  have  met  with  from 
dear  Mr.  Fletcher  and  his  brother's  family,  as  well  as 
from  my  friends  at  this  place.  I  have  nothing  to  regret 
here  but  the  loss  of  Mr.  Fletcher's  company,  who  used 
to  be  much  with  me,  and  who  would  have  sat  up  with 
me  at  night  had  I  consented  to  it.  After  praying  with 
me  on  an  evening,  he  used  constantly  to  repeat,  or  rather 
sing  this  verse  at  parting, — 

'  Then  let  our  humble  faith  address 
His  mercy  and  his  power  : 
We  shall  obtain  deliv'ring  grace 
In  the  distressing  hour.'  " 

In  another  letter  to  his  father,  February  Oth,he  says:— 
"  Mr.  Fletcher  is  scarce  recovered  from  a  severe  fit  of 
the  rheumatism,  and  I  continue  so  extremely  weak,  that 
we  shall  hardly  be  able  to  accomplish  our  wish"  respect- 
ing joining  Mr.  Ireland,  and  returning  to  England.  But 
on  the  10th  of  February,  Mr.  Perronet's  affair  being 
ended,  Mr.  Fletcher  observes  to  him: — "Your  call  to 
England  seems  quite  clear  now  ;  nor  is  mine  less  clear. 
My  friend  Ireland  urges  me  to  join  him.  I  will  venture 
upon  a  visit  to  the  south  of  France  with  you,  if  you  can 
bear  the  journey.  We  should  go  south  by  Lyons,  and 
come  back  to  Paris,  through  the  heart  of  the  kingdom. 
He  says  they  are  as  quiet  as  if  it  were  peace. 

"  I  find,  by  letters  from  thence,  I  am  wanted  in  my 
parish  for  particular  reasons.  So  necessity  draws  me, 
and  my  promises  drive  me.  I  finish  to-day  my  book 
that  detained  me,  as  your  affairs  detained  you  ;  and  the 
Weather  is  mild.  The  Lord  strengthen,  direct,  and  bless 
you.    Cast  all  your  burdens  upon  him." 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


259 


52.  Before  Mr.  Fletcher  left  Switzerland,  he  was 
compelled  to  witness  an  earnest  of  those  judgments  of 
God  upon  that  once  happy  people,  which  have  since 
overwhelmed  them  with  a  full  tide,  on  account,  as  is 
probable,  of  their  departure  from  the  faith  and  love  of 
the  GospeL  And  what  is  remarkable,  those  judgments 
4i  began"  it  seems,  "at  the  house  of  God,"  at  Geneva, 
the  place  which  of  all  others  had  enjoyed  the  greatest 
privileges,  and  made  the  greatest  profession  of  religion. 
Mr.  Fletcher  mentions  this  event,  February  14th,  in  a 
letter  to  a  friend,  thus  : — "  I  am  here  in  the  midst  of  the 
rumours  of  war.  The  burghers  of  Geneva,  on  the  side 
of  the  opposition,  have  disarmed  the  garrison,  and  taken 
possession  of  one  of  the  gates.  I  had,  however,  the 
happiness  to  get  in,  and  bring  away  my  nephew,  who  is 
a  student  there.  Some  troops  are  preparing  to  go  and 
block  them  up.  The  Lord  may,  at  this  time,  punish  the 
repeated  backslidings  of  these  Laodicean  Christians, 
most  of  whom  have  turned  infidels.  This  event  may  a 
little  retard  my  journey,  as  I  must  pass  through  Geneva. 
It  also  puts  off  the  printing  my  manuscript  ;  for  there  is 
nothing  going  on  in  that  unhappy  town  but  disputes,  and 
fights,  and  mounting  of  guards." 

Mr.  William  Perronet  also  speaks  of  these  troubles, 
in  a  letter  to  his  father,  a  little  after,  as  follows  : — "  The 
dispute  at  Geneva  is  between  the  burgesses  and  the 
magistrates,  concerning  their  privileges  and  preroga- 
tives. The  former  have  appealed  to  the  magistrates  of 
Berne,  and  the  latter  to  the  court  of  France  ;  and,  it  is 
feared,  the  affair  will  not  be  ended  without  great  mis- 
chief on  both  sides  ;  the  citizens  having  declared  that 
if  their  grievances  are  not  redressed,  they  will  lock  up 
the  gates,  and  set  fire  to  the  town,  and  so  perish  all  to- 
gether." 

53.  The  breaking  out  of  these  troubles  -was  an  addi- 
tional reason  why  Mr.  Fletcher  desired  to  leave  that 
country.  "  You  need  not  urge  me,"  says  he  to  the  friend 
above  mentioned,  "  to  return  :  brotherly  love  draws  me 
to  Madeley,  and  circumstances  drive  me  hence.  With 
pleasure  I  see  the  days  lengthen,  and  hasten  the  happy 
hour  when  I  shall  see  the  little  flock  rejoicing  in  God„ 
as,  through  mercy,  I  do.  I  trust  to  set  out  n«xt  month, 
and  to  be  in  England  in  May.    It  will  not  be  my  fault 


260 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


if  it  be  not  in  April."  At  the  same  time,  he  desires 
another  friend  in  his  parish  "  to  read  the  following  note 
to  all  that  feared  God,  and  loved  Jesus  and  each  other, 
assembling  in  Madeley  church  : — 

"  My  Dear  Brethren, — My  heart  leaps  for  joy  at 
the  thought  of  coming  to  see  you,  and  bless  the  Lord 
with  you.  Let  us  not  stay  to  praise  him  till  we  sec 
each  other.  Let  us  see  him  in  his  Son,  in  his  word,  in 
his  works,  and  in  all  the  members  of  Christ.  How  slow 
will  post  horses  go  in  comparison  of  love  ! 

'  Quick  as  seraphic  flames  we  move, 
To  reign  with  Christ  in  endless  day. 

"  Meet  me  as  I  do  you — in  spirit  ;  and  we  shall  not 
stay  till  April  or  May  to  bless  (iod  together.  Now  will 
be  the  time  of  union  and  love." 

54.  Mr.  Fletcher,  however,  was  disappointed  of  the 
company  of  his  friend.  To  his  extreme  regret  he  was 
obliged  to  leave  him  behind.  Mr.  Perronet  became 
so  much  weaker  by  the  20th  of  February,  and  the  wea- 
ther so  much  more  severe  than  it  had  been,  the  snow 
setting  in,  that  Mr.  Fletcher  did  not  dare  J.0  urge  him 
to  take  such  a  journey  at  such  a  season  :  and  Tiaving 
'himself  solemnly  promised  Mr.  Ireland  to  go  to  him  at 
Montpelier,  if  he  came  over,  and  having  already  long 
delayed  to  fulfil  his  promise,  he  could  not  with  propriety 
delay  it  any  longer.  He  went  however  to  Lausanne,  to 
see  Mr.  Perronet,  two  days  before  his  departure.  He 
found  him  weak  and  low  ;  but  the  frequent  vomitings, 
which  he  had  had  some  months  before,  had  left  him, 
and  his  appetite  had  returned.  Mr.  Fletcher,  therefore, 
was  not  without  hopes,  which  were  encouraged  by  the 
physician  that  attended  him,  that  the  return  of  fine  wea- 
ther would  be  instrumental  in  restoring  him.  In  the 
mean  time  he  was  well  taken  care  of.  "  Miss  Perronet 
and  her  mother,"  says  Mr.  Fletcher  to  his  father,  "  are 
as  kind  to  him  as  my  dear  friends  at  Newington  were  to 
me,  when  I  lay  sick  there  :  and  his  mind  is  quite  easy. 
He  is  sweetly  resigned  to  the  will  of  God." 

Still,  however,  it  was  a  painful  circumstance  to  Mr. 
Fletcher  to  be  obliged  to  return  to  England  without 
him  ;  and  it  was  certainly  equally  painful  to  his  friend 
to  be  left  behind  in  that  foreign  land.    "  It  would  have 


LIFE  OF  RET.  J.  FLETCHER. 


261 


been  a  much  greater  pleasure,"  says  lie  to  his  father, 
"  to  have  accompanied  my  dear  friend,  Mr.  Fletcher, 
than  to  have  sent  a  letter  by  him.  Indeed,  I  had  flat- 
tered myself  with  the  pleasing  prospect  of  returning 
with  him  in  the  spring.  But  he  is  engaged  by  promise 
to  join  Mr.  Ireland,  and  set  out  with  him  before  the 
winter  is  over.  For  the  snow  is  now  on  the  ground, 
and  it  is  extremely  cold  ;  while  I  am  so  weak,  as  fre- 
quently to  be  scarcely  able  to  creep  from  one  warm 
room  to  another,  without  danger  of  fainting  away.  In- 
deed, once  or  twice,  I  have  fainted  on  the  slightest 
occasions.  But  1  hope  I  shall  be  able  to  get  out  a  little 
when  the  weather  becomes  milder  :  and,  by  the  blessing 
of  God,  gather  strength  sufficient  to  undertake  the  jour- 
ney to  England  by  the  beginning  of  summer  ;  which 
time  I  very  much  long  for." 

55.  Mr.  Fletcher  set  out  for  Montpelier  some  time,  I 
believe,  in  the  beginning  of  March.  "  full,"  as  Mr.  Per- 
ronet  expresses  it,  "of  health  and  spirits."  But  he 
greatly  impaired  both  by  preaching,  which  he  frequently 
did  in  that  city  and  neighbourhood.  And  when  he  got 
to  Lyons,  on  his  return  from  Montpelier,  he  found  him- 
self so  very  ill  that  he  observed,  in  a  letter  to  his  bro- 
ther, he  was  just  on  the  point  of  returning  to  Switzer- 
land, not  thinking  it  worth  while  to  proceed  on  his  jour- 
ney to  England,  in  order  to  languish  out  a  few  useless 
days  there.  But  recovering  a  little  strength,  April  6th, 
1781,  he  wrote  to  Mr.  William  Perronet  as  follows, 
from  Lyons  : — 

"My  Dear  Friend, — We  are  both  weak,  both  afflict- 
ed ;  but  Jesus  careth  for  us.  He  is  everywhere,  and 
here  he  has  all  power  to  deliver  us,  and  he  may  do  it  by 
ways  we  little  think  of;  'as  thou  wilt,  when  thou  wilt, 
and  where  thou  wilt,'  said  Baxter  :  let  us  say  the  same. 
It  was  of  the  Lord  you  did  not  come  with  me  :  you  would 
have  been  sick  as  I  am.  I  am  overdone  with  riding  and 
preaching.  1  preached  twice  in  the  fields.  I  carry  home 
with  me  much  weakness,  and  a  pain  in  my  back  which 
I  fear  will  end  in  the  gravel.  The  Lord's  will  be  done. 
I  know  I  am  called  to  suffer  and  die.  The  journey  tires 
me  ;  but  through  mercy  I  bear  it.  Let  us  believe  and 
rejoice  in  the  Lord  Jesus." 

56.  Mr.  Perronet  had  expected,  as  observed  above,  to 


262 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


gather  strength  as  the  spring  advanced,  and  the  weather 
became  milder.  In  this,  however,  the  Lord  saw  meet, 
in  a  great  measure,  to  disappoint  his  expectations. 
Spring  and  even  summer,  bringing  wanner  weather, 
came  :  but  still  he  continued  in  a  similar  and  even  in- 
creasing state  of  weakness.  On  the  15th  of  May,  he 
writes  : — "  As  to  my  health,  it  is  not  yet  restored  to  me. 
It  ha3  pleased  God  to  bring  down  my  strength  in  my 
journey,  and  to  continue  me  in  that  weak  condition  to 
this  time,  notwithstanding  all  the  efforts  of  my  friends 
and  physicians,  and  my  own  endeavours  in  using  a 
little  very  gentle  exercise  from  time  to  time  as  I  was 
able.  Whenever  I  go  out  every  one  stops  to  stare 
at  me,  and  many  express  their  astonishment  at  the 
sight  of  such  a  spectre  ;  so  greatly  am  I  reduced  and 
altered." 

On  the  12th  of  June  following,  he  seemed  to  himself 
to  be  rather  gaining  a  little  ground  ;  but,  says  he,  "  the 
continual,  sudden,  and  severe  changes  in  the  weather 
here,  tear  me  almost  to  pieces,  and  seem  to  throw  me 
back  as  fast  as  I  recover."  Soon  after  this  he  removed 
to  a  pleasant  village,  called  Gimel,  between  Lausanne 
and  Geneva,  where  Miss  Perronet's  sister  was  settled. 
There  he  rode  out,  drank  asses'  milk,  and  breathed  the 
purest  air  :  "  Mrs.  Perronet  is  there,"  says  Mr.  Fletcher 
to  his  father,  "  with  her  two  daughters.  So  that  if  his 
illness  should  prove  more  grievous,  he  will  not  want  for 
good  attendance,  and  the  most  tender  nursing.  Support 
him,  dear  sir,  with  your  fatherly  exhortations.  They 
are  balm  to  his  blood,  and  marrow  to  his  bones." 

57.  As  the  reader  will  undoubtedly  wish  to  know  the 
sequel  of  the  story  of  this  benevolent  man,  I  shali  here 
insert  an  extract  from  another  of  his  letters.  Being  re- 
turned to  Lausanne,  October  23,  he  wrote  from  thence 
to  his  father  as  follows  : — 

"  Honoured  and  Dear  Sir, — I  wrote  some  time  ago 
by  a  private  hand  ;  but  that  is  not  always  either  the 
safest  or  the  most  expeditious  method  of  conveying  in- 
telligence. My  letter,  however,  contained  little  more 
than  an  account  of  my  return  from  the  mountains,  where 
I  seemed  to  have  gained  very  little  in  point  of  health 
and  strength.  I  mentioned,  likewise,  my  earnest  wishes 
to  return  to  England,  in  case  it  should  please  God  to* 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


263 


assist  me  in  the  means.  This,  I  humbly  trust,  is  in  good 
measure  effected  :  for  I  have  quite  unexpectedly  met 
with  a  very  worthy  gentleman  (a  Swiss  whom  I  for- 
merly knew  in  England)  who  sets  out  for  London  within 
about  a  week  or  fortnight.  We  shall  travel  in  a  chaise  ; 
and  he  is  so  kind  as  to  promise  to  suit  his  mode  of  travel- 
ling to  my  weakness,  which,  indeed,  is  very  great.  We 
may  possibly  be  on  the  road  when  this  letter  reaches  you, 
and  I  doubt  not  but  my  friends  will  assist  me  with  their 
prayers.  The  season  for  travelling  is  late,  it  is  true, 
especially  for  one  in  my  weak  state  :  but  I  choose  this 
rather  than  venture  to  stay  another  winter  in  this  terri- 
ble climate.  Besides,  I  consider  it  as  a  providential 
call  to  return;  and  I  have  taken  your  advice  to  put  what 
remains  to  be  done  in  my  affairs  into  trusty  and  good 
hands." 

He  soon  after  left  Switzerland,  and  with  great  pain 
and  difficulty  reached  Douay,  in  French  Flanders,  where 
he  was  taken  worse,  and  died  in  peace,  December  2, 
1781.  A  little  time  after  Mr.  Fletcher  wrote  as  follows 
to  his  father: — 

'•  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir, — While  I  condole  with  you 
about  the  death  of  my  dear  friend,  and  your  dear  son,  I 
congratulate  you  about  the  resignation  and  Christian 
fortitude  with  which  you,  Abrahamlike,  lay  him  upon 
the  altar  of  our  heavenly  Father's  providential,  good, 
and  acceptable  will.  We  shall  one  day  see  why  he 
made  your  sons  go  before  you,  and  my  kind  physician 
before  me.  About  the  time  he  died,  so  far  as  I  can  find 
by  your  kind  letter,  a  strong  concern  about  him  fell  upon 
me  by  day  and  by  night,  insomuch  that  I  could  not  help 
waking  my  wife  (he  was  then  married)  to  join  me  in 
praying  for  him,  and  at  once  that  concern  ceased  ;  nor 
have  I  since  had  any  such  spiritual  feeling:  whence  I 
concluded  that  the  conflict  I  supposed  my  friend  to  be 
in  was  ended.  But  how  surprised  was  I  to  find  it  wa3 
by  death !  Well  !  whether  Paul  or  Apollos,  or  life  or 
death,  all  things  are  ours  through  Jesus,  who  knows 
how  to  bring  good  out  of  evil,  and  how  to  blow  us  into 
the  harbour  by  a  cross  wind,  and  even  by  a  dreadful 
storm. 

"If,  my  dear  friend,  your  son  has  not  quite  completed 
his  affairs  in  Switzerland,  and  an  agent  is  necessary  there 


264 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


for  that  purpose,  I  ofi'er  you  the  care  and  help  of  my 
brother,  who  was  our  counsellor,  and  who,  I  am  sure, 
will  do  what  lies  in  him  to  oblige  the  father  of  him  whom 
he  had  the  pleasure  of  having  sometime  under  his  roof, 
as  a  sick  monument  of  Christian  meekness  and  resigna- 
tion. I  am  but  poorly,  though  I  serve  yet  my  Church 
without  a  curate,  Mr.  Bailey  being  wanted  at  Kingswood. 
But  what  are  we  ?  Poor  mortals,  dying  in  the  midst  of  a 
world  of  dying  or  dead  men.  But  in  the  midst  of  death 
we  are  in  Christ  the  resurrection  and  the  life,  to  whom 
be  glory  for  ever.  So  prays,  Rev.  and  dear  sir,  yonr 
affectionate  son  and  servant  in  the  Gospel,       J.  F." 

SS.  To  return  to  the  subject  of  our  narrative : — Mr. 
Fletcher  arrived  in  England  in  the  middle  of  the  spring, 
in  tolerable  health,  being  quite  recovered  from  bis  con- 
sumption. Calling  at  London,  he  preached  at  the  New 
Chapel,  slept  at  Newington,  April  27,  and  the  next  day 
set  out  for  Bristol.  He  stayed  there  only  a  short  time, 
and  then  retired  to  Mr.  Ireland's,  at  Brislington.  The 
interview  which  Mr.  Rankin  bad  with  hiin  here,  imme- 
diately upon  his  arrival,  manifests  very  clearly  that  he 
brought  back  from  the  continent  the  same  fervent  spirit 
which  had  accompanied  him  thither.  Of  this  Mr.  Ran- 
kin gives  me  the  following  account: — 

"  In  the  year  1781,  being  stationed  in  Bristol  with  my 
much  esteemed  friend,  Mr.  Pawson,  I  was  informed  of 
Mr.  Fletcher's  arrival  at  Brislington,  from  his  journey 
to  Switzerland.  I  rode  over  to  Mr.  Ireland's  the  day 
after,  and  had  such  an  interview  with  him  as  I  shall 
never  forget  in  time  or  eternity.  As  I  had  not  seen  him 
for  upward  of  ten  years,  his  looks,  his  salutation,  and 
his  address,  struck  me  with  a  mixture  of  wonder,  so- 
lemnity, and  joy.  We  retired  into  Mr.  Ireland's  gar- 
den, where  we  could  converse  with  more  freedom.  He 
then  began  to  inquire  concerning  the  work  of  God  in 
America,  and  my  labours  for  the  live  years  I  had  spent 
on  that  continent.  I  gave  him,  as  far  as  I  was  capable, 
a  full  account  of  every  thing  that  he  wished  to  know. 
While  I  was  giving  him  this  relation,  he  slopped  me  six 
times,  and,  when  under  the  shade  of  the  trees,  poured 
out  his  soul  to  God  for  the  prosperity  of  the  work,  and 
our  brethren  there.  He  appeared  to  be  as  deeply  in- 
terested in  behalf  of  our  suffering  friends  as  if  they  had 


LIVE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


265 


been  his  own  flock  at  Madeley.  He  several  times  called 
upon  me,  also,  to  commend  them  to  God  in  prayer. 
This  was  an  hour  never  to  be  forgotten  by  me  while 
memory  remains.  Before  we  parted,  I  engaged  him  to 
come  to  Bristol  on  the  Monday  following,  in  order 
to  meet  the  select  band  in  the  forenoon,  and  to  preach 
in  mv  place  in  the  evening.  He  did  so  accordingly. 
During  the  hour  that  he  spent  with  the  select  band,  the 
room  appeared  as  '  the  house  of  God  and  the  gale  of 
heaven.'  He  preached  in  the  evening  from  the  Second 
Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians,  chapter  ii,  verse  13.  The 
whole  congregation  was  dissolved  in  tears.  He  spoke 
like  one  who  had  but  just  left  the  converse  of  God  and 
angels,  and  not  like  a  human  being.  The  different  con- 
versations I  had  with  him,  his  prayers  and  preaching 
during  the  few  days  which  he  stayed  at  Bristol  and  Bris- 
lington,  left  such  an  impression  on  my  mind,  and  were 
attended  with  such  salutary  effects,  that  for  some  months 
afterward  not  a  cloud  intervened  between  God  and  my 
soul,  no,  not  for  one  hour.  His  memory  will  ever  be 
precious  to  me  while  life  shall  remain,  and  the  union  of 
spirit  which  I  felt  with  that  holy  and  blessed  man  will 
have  its  consummation  in  those  regions  of  light,  love, 
and  glory,  where  parting  shall  be  no  more." 

I  beg  leave  here  to  subjoin  an  extract  from  a  letter 
written  to  me  a  few  weeks  after  he  arrived  at  Madeley  : — 
"Madeley,  June  25,  1781. 
"My  Dear  Brother, — I  thank  you  for  your  kind 
remembrance  of,  and  letter  to  me.  I  found  myself  of 
one  heart  with  you,  both  as  a  preacher  and  believer,  be- 
fore I  left  Bristol,  and  I  am  glad  you  find  freedom  to  speak 
to  me  as  your  friend  in  Christ.  By  what  you  mention 
of  your  experience,  I  am  confirmed  in  the  thought  that 
it  is  often  harder  to  keep  in  the  way  of  faith  and  light 
than  to  get  into  it.  2.  That  speculation  and  reasoning 
hinder  us  to  get  into  that  way,  and  lead  us  out  of  it  when 
we  are  in  it.  3.  The  only  business  of  those  who  come 
to  God,  as  a  Redeemer  or  Sanctifier,  must  be  to  feel 
their  want  of  redemption  and  sanctifying  power  from 
on  high,  and  to  come  for  it  by  simple,  cordial,  working 
faith.  Easily  the  heart  gets  into  a  false  rest  before  our 
last  enemy  is  overcome.  Hence  arises  a  relapsing,  in 
an  imperceptible  degree,  into  indolence  and  carnal  secu- 
12 


266 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


rity:  hence  a  dreaming  that  we  are  rich  and  increased 
in  goods.  This  is  one  of  the  causes  of  the  declension 
you  perceive  among  some  of  the  Methodists.  Another 
is  the  outward  rest  they  have,  which  is  consistent  with 
the  selfish  views  of  hypocrites,  and  with  the  unbending 
of  the  bow  of  faith  in  those  who  are  sincere.  Another 
may  be,  judging  of  the  greatness  of  the  work  by  the 
numbers  in  society.  Be  the  consequence  what  it  will, 
those  who  see  the  evil  should  honestly  bear  their  testi- 
mony against  it,  first  in  their  own  souls,  next  by  their 
life,  and  thirdly  by  their  plain  and  constant  reproofs  and 
exhortations.  The  work  of  justification  seems  stopped, 
in  some  degree,  because  the  glory  and  necessity  of  the 
pardon  of  sins  to  be  received  and  enjoyed  now  by  faith, 
is  not  pressed  enough  upon  sinners ;  and  the  need  of 
retaining  it,  upon  believers.  The  work  of  sanctifica- 
tion  is  hindered,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  by  the  same  rea- 
son, and  by  holding  out  the  being  delivered  from-  sin, 
as  the  mark  to  be  aimed  at,  instead  of  the  being  rooted 
in  Christ,  and  filled  with  the  fulness  of  God,  and  with 
power  from  on  high.  The  dispensation  of  the  Spirit  is 
confounded  with  that  of  the  Son,  and  the  former  not 
being  held  forth  clearly  enough,  formal  and  lukewarm 
believers  in  Jesus  Christ  suppose  they  have  the  gift  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Hence  the  increase  of  carnal  profes- 
sors, see  Acts  viii,  16.  And  hence  so  few  spiritual  men. 
Let  us  pray,  hope,  love,  believe  for  ourselves,  and  call, 
as  you  say,  for  the  display  of  the  Lord's  arm.  My  love 
to  your  dear  fellow  labourer,  Mr.  Pawson.  Pray  for 
your  affectionate  brother,  J.  P." 

59.  Mr.  Ireland  being  confined  by  affliction,  and  wish- 
ing, nevertheless,  to  accompany  his  friend  to  Madeley, 
as  soon  as  he  should  be  able,  Mr.  Fletcher  stayed  a  few 
days  at  Brislington,  waiting  for  his  recovery,  before  he 
set  out  for  his  parish.  Upon  their  arrival  there  it  was 
his  first  care  to  inquire  into  the  spiritual  state  of  his 
dear  flock:  but  he  did  not  find  such  cause  of  rejoicing 
as  he  had  fondly  expected.  This  may  be  easily  gathered 
from  the  letter  he  then  wrote  to  his  friend  atNewington. 
It  runs  thus  : — 

"Madeley,  June  12,  1781. 
"My  Very  Dear  Friend, — I  stayed  longer  at  Bris- 
lington than  I  designed.    Mr.  Ireland  was  ill,  and  would 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


267 


Bel  erthelesa  come  hither  with  me :  so  that  I  was  obliged 
to  stay  till  he  was  better.  And  indeed  it  was  well  I  did 
not  come  without  him  :  for  he  has  helped  me  to  regulate 
my  outward  affairs,  which  were  in  great  confusion.  Mr. 
Greaves  leaves  me:  and  I  will  either  leave  Madeley,  or 
have  an  assistant  able  to  stir  among  the  people  :  for  I 
had  much  rather  be  gone,  than  stay  here  to  see  the  dead 
bury  their  dead.  Well,  we  shall  soon  remove  out  of 
all,  and  rest  from  our  little  cares  and  labours.  You  do 
not  forget,  I  hope,  that  you  have  need  of  patience,  as 
well  as  I,  to  inherit  the  promises,  the  best  and  the  great- 
est of  which  are  not  sealed,  but  to  such  as  keep  the  word 
of  Christ's  patience,  and  such  as  persevere  with  him  in 
his  temptations.  Hold  on,  then,  patient  faith  and  joyful 
hope !  If  I  were  by  you,  I  would  preach  to  your  heart, 
and  my  own,  a  lecture  on  this  text,  We  are  saved  by 
hope,  and  by  a  faith  which  is  never  stronger  than  when 
it  is  contrary  to  all  the  feelings  of  flesh  and  blood. 

"  Pray  what  news  of  the  glory  ?  Does  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  fill  the  temple,  your  house,  your  heart  ?  A  cloud 
is  over  my  poor  parish  ;  but  alas  !  it  is  not  the  luminous 
cloud  by  day,  nor  the  pillar  of  fire  by  night.  Even  the 
few  remaining  professors  stared  at  me  the  other  day, 
when  I  preached  to  them  on  these  words,  Ye  shall  re- 
ceive the  liohj  Ghost:  for  the  promise  is  unto  you. 
Well,  the  promise  is  unto  us;  if  others  despise  it,  still 
let  us  believe  and  hope.  Nothing  enlarges  the  heart 
and  awakens  the  soul  more  than  that  believing,  loving 
expectation.  Let  us  wait  together  until  we  are  all 
endued  with  power  from  on  high." 

60.  The  above  letter  manifests  still  farther  that  he 
had  sustained  no  loss  of  his  piety  and  devotedness  to 
God  while  abroad.  And  although,  as  it  appears,  he  now 
entertained  thoughts  of  changing  his  condition  in  life, 
it  is  evident  his  mind  was  not  hereby  diverted  from  the 
pursuit  of  his  holy  vocation  and  ministry,  nor  his  zeal 
in  the  least  damped.  This  is  rendered  still  more  evident 
from  a  letter  I  received  from  him  about  the  same  time, 
with  an  extract  from  which  I  shall  conclude  this  chap- 
ter:— 

"My  De\r  Brother, — I  rejoice  at,  and  am  much 
obliged  to  you  for  your  kind  remembrance  of  me:  and 
I  shall  be  glad  to  tie  faster  the  blessed  knot  at  the 


268 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER* 


approaching  conference,  (to  be  held  at  Leeds,  in  the  be- 
ginning of  August  next,)  if  my  health  permit  me  to  be 
there  according  to  my  design.  Happy  are  you  if  you 
live  by  faith  in  the  atoning  blood,  for  justification  and 
sanctification.  It  is  the  Spirit  alone  which  can  show  us 
the  worth,  and  make  us  feel  the  powerful  influence  of 
the  Saviour's  blood  and  righteousness  :  and  so  far  as  my 
little  experience  goes,  he  gives  that  blessed  privilege 
only  to  those  who  in  the  depth  of  poverty  wait  for  that 
Divine  revelation.  I  learn  not  to  despise  the  least  beam 
of  truth,  and  I  quietly  and  joyfully  wait  for  the  bright 
sunshine. 

"The  best  way  to  avoid  errors  is  to  lie  very  low  be- 
fore God  ;  to  know  his  voice,  and  consult  him  in  all 
things  ;  learning  to  mortify  our  wise  pride,  as  well  as 
our  aspiring  will  and  our  disordered  passions.  But  more 
of  this  if  we  live  to  see  each  other  again. 

"I  am  at  present  without  an  assistant  here,  but  hope 
soon  to  have  Mr.  Bailey,  one  of  the  masters  at  Kings- 
wood  school.  If  he  come,  I  shall  be  at  liberty  to  go  to 
Leeds,  and  I  hope  God  will  strengthen  me  for  the  jour- 
ney. A  godly  wife  is  a  peculiar  blessing  from  the 
Lord.*  I  wish  you  joy  for  such  a  loan.  Possess  it  with 
godly  fear  and  holy  joy  ;  and  the  God  that  gave  her  you 
help  you  both  to  see  your  doubled  piety  take  root  in  the 
heart  of  the  child  that  crowns  your  union.  So  prays, 
my  dear  brother,  your  alTectionate  friend,        J.  F." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Of  his  marriage. 

1.  Although  the  great  apostle  has  ranked  the  for' 
bidding  to  marry  among  the  doctrines  of  devils,  and  has 
expressly  declared.  Marriage  is  honourable  to  all  men, 
and  the  bed  undefiled  ;  yet  a  kind  of  prejudice  hangs  on 
the  minds  of  many,  even  of  those  that  love  God,  inclin- 

*  This  is  said  with  a  reference  to  my  having  married  about  a 
year  and  a  half  before. 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


269 


ing  them  to  disapprove  of  the  marriage  of  persons  emi- 
nent in  religion.  Yea,  many  are  of  opinion  that  it  is 
not  consistent  with  high  degrees  of  holiness  :  and  that 
when  any  who  have  deep  experience  in  the  things  of 
God  marry,  they  are  in  some  measure  fallen  from  grace. 
Hence  many  were  surprised  that  so  eminent  a  Christian 
as  Mr.  Fletcher  should  take  this  step.  And  they  could 
hardly  help  thinking  that  he  had  lost  some  degree  of  his 
excellent  piety,  and  that  he  was  not  so  unreservedly 
devoted  to  (Jod  as  he  had  been  some  time  before. 

In  order  to  satisfy  every  reasonable  person  that  he 
had  not  sustained  any  Joss  at  all  ;  that  his  entire  self- 
devotion  was  in  nowise  impaired  either  before  or  at  the 
time  of  his  marriage,  the  most  convincing  way,  as  Mr. 
Wesley  has  observed,  will  be  to  give  as  particular  an 
account  as  possible  of  the  steps  which  led  to  this  union ; 
and  of  what  occurred  at  the  time  when  it  took  place. 
This  I  shall  do,  first,  in  the  words  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gilpin, 
and  then  in  those  of  one  who  was  well  acquainted  with 
them  both,  and,  in  particular,  was  in  habits  of  great  inti- 
macy with  the  pious  and  amiable  person  who  was  the 
object  of  Mr.  Fletcher's  choice. 

2.  "  The  attention  of  ministers,"  says  Mr.  Gilpin, 
"  in  choosing  such  companions  as  may  not  hinder  their 
eyceess  in  the  ministry,  is  of  so  great  importance,  that 
in  some  countries  the  conduct  of  a  pastor's  wife,  as  well 
as  that  of  the  pastor  himself,  is  supposed  either  to  edify 
or  mislead  the  flock.  Nay,  the  minister  himself  is  fre- 
quently condemned  for  the  faults  of  his  wife  :  thus,  in 
the  Protestant  Churches  of  Hungary,  they  degrade  a 
pastor  whose  wife  indulges  herself  in  cards,  dancing,  or 
any  other  public  amusement,  which  bespeaks  the  gayety 
of  a  lover  of  the  world,  rather  than  the  gravity  of  a 
Christian  matron.  This  severity  springs  from  the  sup- 
position that  the  woman,  having  promised  obedience  to 
her  husband,  can  do  nothing  but  what  he  either  directs 
or  approves.  Hence,  they  conclude,  that  example  hav- 
ing a  greater  influence  than  precept,  the  wife  of  a  minis- 
ter, if  she  be  inclined  to  the  world,  will  preach  worldly 
compliance  with  more  success  by  her  conduct,  than  her 
husband  can  preach  the  renunciation  of  the  world  by  the 
most  solemn  discourses.  And  the  incredulity  of  the 
ptQUlbJed  flock  will  always  be  the  consequence  of  that 


270 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHEIt. 


unhappy  inconsistency  which  is  observable  between  the 
serious  instructions  of  a  well  disposed  minister,  and  the 
trifling  conduct  of  a  woman  with  whom  he  is  so  inti- 
mately connected.  Nor  are  there  wanting  apostolic  or- 
dinances sufficient  to  support  the  exercise  of  this  severe 
discipline: — Even  so  must  their  wives  be  grave,  not 
slanderers,  sober,  faithful  in  all  things.  Let  the  bishop 
or  deacon  be  one  that  rulcth  well  his  own  house,  having 
his  children,  and  every  part  of  his  family,  in  subjection 
with  all  gravity :  for  if  a  man  know  not  how  to  rule  his 
own  house,  how  shall  he  take  care  of  the  Church  of  God  ? 
1  Tim.  iii,  4,  5,  11. 

3.  "Early  in  life  Mr.  Fletcher  was  introduced  to  the 

ompany  of  Miss  Bosanquet,  a  lady  of  distinguished 
piety,  and  one  who  had  been  exposed  to  peculiar  suffer- 
ings in  the  cause  of  godliness.  From  the  very  first  ac- 
quaintance of  these  two  excellent  persons,  they  were 
deeply  sensible  of  each  other's  worth,  and  felt  the  secret 
influence  of  a  mutual  attraction.  But,  notwithstanding 
the  peculiar  regard  they  entertained  for  each  other,  no 
intimate  intercourse  subsisted  between  them  for  many 
years  after  this  period.  Both  were  called  to  an  extra- 
ordinary course  of  spiritual  exercises  ;  but  by  the  pro- 
vidence of  God  they  were  appointed  to  labour  in  differ- 
ent stations.  While  he  was  exhausting  his  strength  in 
the  service  of  his  flock,  she  was  no  less  honourably 
employed  in  applying  an  ample  fortune  to  the  relief  of 
the  friendless  ;  collecting  together,  and  supporting  under 
her  own  roof,  an  extensive  family,  composed  of  the 
afflicted,  the  indigent,  and  the  helpless,  but  chiefly  con- 
sisting of  orphan  children.  To  these  occupations  they 
devoted  the  prime  of  their  days  ;  and  during  more  than 
twenty  years'  unwearied  attention  to  these  sacred  em- 
ployments no  regular  correspondence  was  maintained 
between  them.  They  knew,  however,  and  rejoiced  in 
each  other's  labours  :  but,  while  every  succeeding  report 
tended  to  increase  their  mutual  regard,  they  greatly 
endeavoured  to  turn  the  whole  stream  of  their  affections 
toward  heavenly  things,  joyfully  sacrificing  every  infe- 
rior consideration  to  the  interest  of  the  Church  and  the 
glory  of  their  common  Master. 

"It  was  not  till  his  last  return  from  Switzerland,  after 

his  unexpected  recovery  from  a  dangerous  illness,  that 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


Mr.  Fletcher  renewed  his  personal  acquaintance  with 
Miss  Bosanquet,  who  received  him  as  a  friend  restored 
from  the  grave.  They  had  each  of  them  studiously 
followed  the  leadings  of  Providence  in  their  appointed 
stations  ;  and,  at  this  time,  a  combination  of  extraor- 
dinary circumstances  led  them  into  those  habits  of  inti- 
macy which  daily  increased  their  deep-rooted  attach- 
ment to  each  other.  There  existed  on  either  side  a 
variety  of  motives  to  their  immediate  union,  and  not  a 
single  reason  of  any  weight  for  their  continued  separa- 
tion. Every  seeming  impediment  was  suddenly  removed 
out  of  the  way,  and  all  things  wonderfully  conspired  to 
accelerate  that  entire  connection  between  them  which 
promised  a  large  addition  to  their  mutual  comfort.  At 
length,  with  the  fullest  persuasion  that  they  acted  under 
the  Divine  influence,  they  received  each  other  at  the 
altar,  in  the  most  solemn  and  affecting  manner,  as  from 
the  immediate  hand  of  God,  and  in  the  presence  of  a 
multitude  of  friends,  who  rejoiced  to  see  so  much  solid 
piety  and  worth  united  by  an  indissoluble  tie." 

4.  The  account  given  by  Mrs.  C.  in  a  letter  to  Mr. 
Wesley  is  much  more  particular  :  and  as  she  was  an 
eye  and  ear  witness  of  what  she  relates,  I  doubt  not  but 
it  will  fully  satisfy  all  who  seriously  consider  it,  that  his 
soul  was  at  that  time  all  alive,  and  wholly  devoted  to 
God.  And  this  whole  transaction  may  well  be  recom- 
mended to  the  imitation  of  all  Christians  who  enter  the 
holy  state  of  matrimony. 

"  Rev.  Sir, — I  think  it  my  privilege,  and  have  often 
found  it  a  blessing,  to  comply  with  the  request  of  my 
honoured  father,  which  I  now  do  also  in  great  love  to 
my  valuable  and  much  esteemed  friends,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Fletcher.  I  will  therefore  endeavour,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  my  gracious  Lord,  to  recollect  and  acquaint  you 
with  some  particulars  of  the  life  and  character  of  these 
truly  devoted  servants  of  God,  with  whose  intimate  ac- 
quaintance I  have  been  favoured  for  near  thirty  years. 
But,  indeed,  I  feel  my  great  insufficiency  to  relate  what 
might  be  said  with  the  strictest  truth  of  these  worthies. 

"  My  acquaintance  with  Mrs.  Fletcher  began  when 
she  was  about  seventeen  years  of  age.  She  had  from 
her  early  childhood  been  strongly  drawn  to  seek  the 
Crucified,  and  was  now  athirst  for  a  clean  heart,  and 


272 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


longed  to  have  a  right  spirit  renewed  within  her.  Nor 
did  her  desire  to  love  God  with  all  her  heart  lessen,  but 
increase,  her  love  to  her  neighbour:  as  I,  the  most  un- 
worthy, am  well  able  to  testify,  to  whom  she  has  been 
a  tried  friend,  even  to  the  present  hour. 

"To  give  you  a  clear  view  of  this,  I  need  only  tran- 
scribe part  of  a  letter  which  she  wrote  to  me,  May  23, 
1757  :— 

"  '  Mv  Dearest  Friend, — The  Lord  has  been  indee  d 
merciful,  above  all  that  we  can  ask  or  think.  I  found  a 
greater  blessing  the  last  time  I  was  with  you  than  ever. 
I  am  more  enabled  to  pray,  and  earnestly  to  seek  after 
holiness.  But  what  most  stirs  me  up  is,  I  seem  to  hear 
the  Lord  calling  upon  me,  Depart  ye,  depart  ye,  go  ye 
out  thence  :  touch  not  the  unclean  thing :  be  ye  clean 
that  bear  the  vessels  of  the  Lord.  For  some  time  these 
words  have  been  much  in  my  mind  with  both  pleasure 
and  profit.  But  within  this  day  or  two  the  Lord  has 
more  clearly  shown  me  the  way  wherein  I  ought  to 
walk.  He  seems  to  call  me  out  to  more  activity,  so  that 
I  am  ready  to  cry  out,  "What  wouldst  thou  have  me  to 
do?"  Then  I  consider,  Can  I  do  any  more  for  the  souls 
or  bodies  of  the  poor  about  me  ?  But  this  does  not  seem 
to  be  the  thing.  What  I  am  now  led  to  wish  for  is,  with 
both  soul  and  body  to  serve  those  who  are  in  Christ. 
And  as  soon  as  the  Lord  has  prepared  me  for  his  work, 
and  set  me  at  liberty,  my  firm  resolution  is,  by  the  grace 
of  God,  to  be  wholly  given  up  to  the  Church.  I  plainly 
see  I  have  no  more  to  do  with  the  world  than  to  allow 
myself  the  necessaries  of  life.  And  though  it  has  pleas- 
ed (rod  that  I  have  no  need  to  work  for  my  living,  yet 
surely  that  is  no  reason  my  hand  should  be  idle.  I 
would  be  like  those  described,  1  Tim.  v,  10,  To  bring 
up  children,  to  lodge  strangers,  to  be  ready  to  do  the 
meanest  offices  for  the  saints  :  to  relieve  the  afflicted,  to 
visit  the  fatherless  and  widows,  and  diligently  to  follow 
every  good  work.  O  pray  for  me  that  the  Lord  may 
shorten  his  work  in  me,  and  quickly  make  an  end  of 
sin !  O  that  he  would  say  to  my  soul,  Thou  art  all  fair, 
my  love !  There  is  no  spot  in  thee.  O  when  shall  I  be 
wholly  given  up,  both  body  and  soul,  to  Him  who  gave 
himself  for  me !' 

"  I  admired  the  spirit  of  this  letter  :  but  little  expected 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


273 


to  see  these  good  desires  brought  so  fully  into  practice 
as  they  were  a  few  years  after.  And  this  may  suffice  as 
a  clear  proof  that  God  fulfils  the  desires  of  them  that 
fear  him  ;  yea,  and  shows  unto  them  the  patli  wherein 
he  would  have  them  to  walk.  That  her  light  given  be- 
fore was  not  delusive  is  plain;  as  it  is  well  known  how 
many  years  she  has  brovght  up  childreji,  lodged  stran- 
gers, relieved  the  afflicted,  and  diligently  followed 
every  good  work. 

"With  regard  to  the  dear  saint  that  is  now  swallowed 
up  in  his  beloved  employment,  praise  and  adoration,  it 
is  eisrht  or  nine  and  twenty  years  since  I  was  first 
favoured  with  his  heavenly  conversation,  in  company 
with  Mr.  Walsh,  and  a  few  other  friends,  most  of  whom 
are  now  in  the  world  of  spirits.  At  these  seasons  how 
frequently  did  we  feel 

'  The  o'erwhelming  power  of  saving  grace!' 

How  frequently  were  we  silenced  thereby,  while  tears 
of  love  our  souls  o'erflowed  !  It  sweetly  affects  my  soul, 
while  1  recollect  the  humility,  fervour  of  spirit,  and 
strength  of  faith  with  which  dear  Mr.  Fletcher  so  often 
poured  out  his  soul  before  the  great  Three  One,  at  whose 
feet  we  have  lain  in  holy  shame  and  Divine  silence,  till 
it  seemed  earth  was  turned  to  heaven  !  With  what  delight 
does  my  soul  recall  those  precious  moments  !  Yet  a  little 
while,  and  we  shall  all  magnify  his  name  together. 

"This  heavenly  minded  servant  of  the  Lord  resem- 
bled his  Master,  likewise,  in  his  love  to  precious  souls. 
I  heard  him  preach  his  first  sermon  at  West-street  cha- 
pel. I  think  his  text  was,  Repent,  for  the  kingdom-  of 
heaven  is  at  hand.  His  spirit  appeared  in  his  whole 
attitude  and  action,  though  he  could  not  well  find  words 
in  the  English  language  to  express  himself:  but  he  sup- 
plied that  defect,  by  offering  up  prayers,  tears,  and  sighs 
abundantly.  Nearly  about  this  time,  he  saw  Miss  Bo- 
sanquet,  and  began  his  acquaintance  with  her.  But 
although  they  had  a  particular  esteem  for  each  other, 
yet  they  had  no  correspondence  for  above  twenty  years. 
It  was  not  till  the  yearly  conference  drew  near  in  July 
1 781,  that  he  paid  her  a  visit  at  her  own  house  near 
Leeds.  They  had  much  conversation  together,  and  con- 
tracted an  intimate  acquaintance.  After  a  few  days, 
12* 


274 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


Miss  Bosanquet,  asked  your  (Mr.  Wesley's)  advice, 
concerning  Mr.  Fletcher's  proposal.  You  approved  it 
entirely,  being  persuaded  it  would  be  much  to  the  glory 
of  God." 

About  the  middle  of  September  Mr.  Fletcher  returned 
to  Madeley,  where  he  continued  till  the  end  of  October, 
when  he  again  visited  Yorkshire,  intending  immediately 
alter  his  marriage  to  set  out  with  his  spouse  to  his  be- 
loved parish.  For  he  seemed  to  think  every  hour  a 
day  while  he  was  detained  from  his  dear  people.  But 
unavoidable  hiuderances  occurring,  their  mutual  friend, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Cross,  was  so  kind  as  to  supply  Madeley, 
while  Mr.  Fletcher  took  care  of  Mr.  Cross'  parish  in 
his  absence. 

"  His  general  conversation,"  proceeds  Mrs.  C,  "  while 
at  Cross  Hall  was  praising  God,  and  speaking  of  the  love 
of  our  dear  Redjemer.  He  took  opportunities  likewise 
of  speaking  to  every  one  in  the  family  concerning  the 
state  of  their  souls,  and  giving  them,  from  time  to  time, 
such  directions  as  were  suitable  thereto.  At  other  times 
he  met  us  all  together,  and  gave  us  proper  exhortations 
and  directions.  Our  daily  meals  were  as  a  sacrament; 
when  he  drank  to  any  one  it  was,  'heavenly  health,'  oj 
'  the  cup  of  salvation.'  At  or  after  the  meal,  he  generally 
began,  or  called  us  to  begin  that  verse,— 

'  Still,  O  my  soul,  prolong 

The  never-ceasing  song ! 
Christ  my  theme,  my  hope,  my  joy  ! 

His  be  all  my  happy  days  ! 
Praise  my  every  hour  employ  : 

Every  breath  be  spent  in  praise  !' 

After  dinner  he  often  sung  several  verses  of  primitive 
Christianity  :  particularly  that, — • 

'  O  that  my  Lord  would  count  me  meet 
To  wash  his  dear  disciples'  feet !' 

Sometimes  he  read  many  of  those  verses  with  tears 
streaming  down  his  face.  Thus  did  he  walk  with  God, 
tilled  with  the  spirit  of  his  beloved  Lord  :  confirming  his 
love  to  all  the  family,  and  caring  both  for  their  spiritual 
and  temporal  concerns. 

"  My  soul  was  much  affected,  when  he  asked  each  of 
us,  in  a  sweet,  humble  manner,  '  Can  you  give  me  your 
friend  ?'   To  think  of  parting  was  indeed  grievous  to  us 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


275 


all.  Yet  we  did  aot  dare  to  withhold  her  from  him  :  as 
we  all  believed  the  union  was  of  God,  and  would  be  to 
their  present  and  eternal  benefit.  The  first  sermon 
which  he  preached  in  Leeds,  on  the  Sunday  morning 
before  the  conference,  will  never  be  forgotten  by  any 
that  heard  it,  who  desire  to  be  perfected  in  love,  lie 
preached  in  many  places  while  in  Yorkshire,  and  to 
numerous  congregations.  I  have  heard  of  many  who 
were  blessed  thereby :  some  convinced  of  sin,  others 
comforted.  And  whenever  he  either  preached  or 
conversed,  the  comforts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  were  mul- 
tiplied. 

"  Monday,  November  12th,  was  the  day  appointed  for 
the  outward  uniting  of  those  whose  hearts  were  before 
united  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  On  the  morning  of  this  day, 
several  friends  met  together  on  tins  solemn  occasion  : 
who  can  all  with  me  truly  say,  '  I  have  been  at  one 
Christian  wedding.'  Jesus  was  invited,  and  truly  he  was 
at  our  Cana.  We  reached  Cross  Hall  before  family 
prayers  :  Mr.  Fletcher  was  dressed  in  his  canonicals  : 
and  after  giving  out  one  of  Mr.  Wesley's  marriage 
hymns,  he  read  the  seventh,  eigbth,  and  ninth  verses 
of  the  nineteenth  chapter  of  Revelation  ;  and  spoke 
from  them  in  such  a  manner  as  greatly  tended  to  spi- 
ritualize the  solemnities  of  the  day.  He  said, '  We  invite 
you  to  our  wedding:  but  the  Holy  Ghost  here  invites 
you  to  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb.  The  bride,  the  Lamb's 
wife,  has  made  herself  ready.  This  bride  consists  of 
the  whole  Church  triumphant  and.  militant  united  to- 
gether. Ye  may  all  be  the  bride,  and  Jesus  will  con- 
descend to  be  the  Bridegroom.  Make  yourselves  ready 
by  being  filled  with  the  Spirit.'  lie  was  very  solemn 
in  prayer,  and  said,  '  Lord,  thou  knowest  we  would  not 
take  this  step  if  we  had  not  eternity  in  view,  and  if  wo 
were  not  as  willing  to  be  carried  into  the  churchyard, 
as  to  go  into  the  church.'  At  breakfast  he  reminded 
us,  '  The  postillions  are  now  ready  to  carry  us  to  the 
church,  in  order  to  see  our  nuptials  solemnized  ;  but 
death  will  soon  be  here,  to  transport  us  to  the  marriage 
of  the  Lamb.' 

"  On  the  way  to  the  church,  (Batlcy  church,  which  was 
near  two  miles  off,)  he  spoke  much  of  the  mystery  which 
is  couched  under  marriage,  namely,  the  union  between 


2*6 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


Christ  and  his  Church.  '  The  first  Adam,'  said  he,  '  re- 
ceived his  wife  from  his  side  ;  our  heavenly  Adam  pur 
chased  his  bride  by  a  fountain  opened  in  his  pierced  side.' 
They  were  married  in  the  face  of  the  congregation  ;  the 
doors  were  opened,  and  every  one  came  in  that  would. 
We  then  returned  home,  and  spent  a  considerable  time  in 
singing  and  prayer.  We  were  near  twenty  of  us.  1  then 
presented  Mrs.  Fletcher  with  some  wedding  hymns.  She 
looked  them  over,  and  gave  them  to  Mr.  Fletcher.  He 
read  the  scripture  at  the  top,  namely,  Husbands,  love 
your  wives:  and  added,  as  Christ  loved  the  Church. 
Then  turning  to  us,  he  said,  '  My  God,  what  a  task  !  Help 
me,  my  friends,  by  your  prayers  to  fulfil  it.  As  Christ 
loved  the  Church  !  He  laid  aside  his  glory  for  her  ! 
He  submitted  to  be  born  into  our  world  ;  to  be  clothed 
with  a  human  body,  subject  to  all  our  sinless  infirmities. 
He  endured  shame,  contempt,  pain,  yea,  death  itself,  for 
his  Church  !  O  my  God,  none  is  able  to  fulfil  this  task 
without  thine  almighty  aid.  Help  me,  O  my  God  !  Pray 
for  me,  O  my  friends  !' 

"  He  next  read,  Wives,  submit  yourselves  vnto  your 
own  husbands.  Mrs.  Fletcher  added,  As  vnto  the  Lord. 
'  Well,  my  dear,'  returned  Mr.  Fletcher,  '  only  in  the 
Lord.  And  if  ever  I  wish  you  to  do  any  thing  other- 
wise, resist  me  with  all  your  might.'  From  dinner, 
w  hich  was  a  spiritual  meal,  as  well  as  a  natural  one, 
until  tea  time,  our  time  was  spent  chiefly  in  fervent 
prayer  or  singing.  After  singing  the  covenant  hymn, 
Mr.  Fletcher  went. to  Mrs.  Fletcher,  and  said  to  her, 
'  Well,  my  dearest  friend,  will  you  join  with  me  in  join- 
ing ourselves  in  a  perpetual  covenant  to  the  Lord  ?  Will 
you,  with  me,  serve  him  in  his  members  ?  Will  you 
help'  to  bring  souls  to  the  blessed  Redeemer?  And  in 
every  possible  way  this  day  lay  yourself  under  the 
strongest  ties  you  can,  to  help  me  to  glorify  my  gracious 
Lord  V  She  answered  like  one  that  well  knew  where 
her  strength  lay,  '  May  my  God  help  me  so  to  do  !' 

"  In  the  evening  Mr.  Yalton  preached  in  the  hall  from 
those  most  suitable  words,  What  shall  I  render  unto 
the  Lord  for  all  his  benefits?  I  will  tale  the  cup  of  sal- 
vation, and  call  upon  the,  name  of  the  Lord.  His  words 
did  not  fall  to  the  ground  :  many  were  greatly  refreshed. 
After  preaching  there  was  a  sweet  contest  among  us; 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


277 


every  one  thought.  I  in  particular,  owe  the  greatest  debt 
of  praise  ;  till  we  jointly  agreed  to  sing, — 

'  I'll  praise  my  Maker  while  I've  breath, 
And  when  my  voice  is  lost  in  death, 

Praise  shall  employ  my  nobler  powers: 
My  days  of  praise  shall  ne'er  be  past, 
While  life,  or  thought,  or  being  last, 

Or  immortali:y  endures.' 

"On  the  Wednesday  following,  the  select  society  met: 
and  it  was  a  precious  season.  Among  other  things  Mr. 
Fletcher  said,  '  Some  of  you  perhaps  may  be  a  little 
surprised  at  the  step  my  dearest  friend  and  I  have  taken. 
But  I  assure  you  it  was  the  result  of  much  prayer  and 
mature  deliberation.  Five  and  twenty  years  ago,  when 
I  first  saw  my  dear  wife,  I  thought  if  I  ever  married  she 
should  be  the  person.  But  she  was  too  rich  for  me  to 
think  of.  So  I  banished  every  thought  of  the  kind.  For 
many  years  after  I  had  a  distaste  to  a  married  life,  think- 
ing it  impossible  to  be  as  much  devoted  to  God  in  a  mar- 
ried, as  in  a  single  life.  But  this  objection  was  removed 
by  reading,  Enoch  begat  sons  and  daughters.  And 
Enoch  u-alkcd  with  God,  and  ivas  not:  for  God  took 
him.  I  then  saw  if  Enoch,  at  the  head  of  a  family,  might 
walk  with  God,  and  be  fit  for  translation;  our  souls, 
under  the  Gospel  dispensation,  might  attain  the  highest 
degree  of  holiness  in  a  similar  state,  if  too  great  an 
attachment,  leading  the  soul  from  God,  rather  than  to 
him,  did  not  take  place,  instead  of  that  which  should 
be  a  mean  of  increasing  its  union  with  Jesus.  Yet  still 
many  obstacles  stood  in  my  way  :  but  at  length  they 
were  all  rr-moved.  Every  mountain  became  a  plain, 
and  we  are  both  well  assured  that  the  step  we  have  taken 
has  the  full  approbation  of  God.' 

"  But  to  repeat  all  the  precious  sayings  of  this  servant 
of  God  would  require  many  volumes  :  for  his  mouth  was 
always  opened  witli  wisdom,  tending  to  minister  grace 
to  the  hearers.  My  earnest  prayer  is,  that  the  spirit 
of  faith  and  love  a  ad  heavenly  wisdom  may  rest  upon 
you  also,  and  guide  you  in  all  your  extensive  labours 
till  they  arc  swallowed  up  in  eternal  rest.  I  remain, 
Rev.  sir,  your  unworthy  child  and  servant,       S.  C." 

5.  An  extract  from  one  or  two  of  his  letters  written 
to  some  intimate  friends  soon  after  his  marriage  will 


278 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


manifest  still  farther  both  the  state  of  his  mind  on  this 
occasion,  and  the  just,  scriptural  views  he  had  of  the 
new  relation  into  which  he  had  entered.  December 
26th,  1781,  he  writes  from  Cross  Hall,  the  former 
residence  of  Mrs.  Fletcher,  as  follows,  to  the  Hon. 
Mrs.  C.  :— 

"My  Very  Dear  Friend, — The  kind  part  you  take 
in  my  happiness  demands  my  warmest  thanks  ;  and  1 
beg  you  will  accept  them,  multiplied  by  those  which  my 
dear  partner  presents  to  you.  Yes,  my  dear  friend,  I 
am  married  in  my  old  age,  and  have  a  new  opportunity 
of  considering  a  great  mystery,  in  the  most  perfect  type 
of  our  Lord's  mystical  union  with  his  Church.  I  have 
now  a  new  call  to  pray  for  a  fulness  of  Christ's  holy, 
gentle,  meek,  loving  Spirit,  that  I  may  love  my  wife  as 
he  loved  his  spouse,  the  Church.  But  the  emblem  is 
greatly  deficient :  the  Lamb  is  worthy  of  his  spouse, 
and  more  than  worthy  ;  whereas  I  must  acknowledge 
myself  unworthy  of  the  yokefellow  whom  Heaven  has 
reserved  for  me.  She  is  a  person  after  my  own  heart ; 
and  I  make  no  doubt  we  shall  increase  the  number  of 
the  happy  marriages  in  the  Church  militant.  Indeed, 
they  are  not  so  many  but  it  may  be  worth  a  Christian's 
while  to  add  one  more  to  the  number.  God  declared  it 
was  not  good  that  man,  a  social  being,  should  live  alone, 
and  therefore  he  gave  him  a  help  meet  for  him  :  for  the 
same  reason  our  Lord  sent  forth  his  disciples  two  and 
two.  Had  I  searched  the  three  kingdoms,  I  could  not 
have  found  one  brother  willing  to  share,  gratis,  my  weal, 
wo,  and  labours;  and  complaisant  enough  to  unite  his 
fortunes  to  mine ;  but  Cod  has  found  me  a  partner,  a 
sister,  a  wife,  to  use  St.  Paul's  language,  who  is  not 
afraid  to  face  with  me  the  colliers  and  bargemen  of  my 
parish  until  death  part  us. 

"Buried  together  in  our  country  village,  we  shall 
help  one  another  to  trim  our  lamps,  and  wait,  as  I  trust 
you  do  continually,  for  the  coming  of  the  heavenly 
Bridegroom.  Well,  for  us  the  heavenly  child  is  born, 
to  us  a  double  son  is  given,  and  with  him  the  double 
kingdom  of  grace  and  glory.  O  my  dear  friend,  let  us 
press  into,  and  meet  in  both  of  these  kingdoms.  Our 
Surety  and  Saviour  is  the  way  and  the  door  into  them  ; 
and,  blessed  be  free  grace,  the  way  is  free  as  the  king's 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


279 


highway,  anil  the  door  open  like  the  arms  of  Jesus  cru- 
cified. 

January  1st.  1782,  he  adds  : — "I  live,  hlessed  he  God, 
to  devote  myself  again  to  his  hlessed  service  in  this 
world,  or  in  the  next,  and  to  wish  my  dear  friends  all 
the  blessings  of  a  year  of  jubilee.  Whatever  this  year 
bring  forth,  may  it  bring  us  the  fullest  measures  of  sal- 
vation  attainable  on  earth,  and  the  most  complete  pre- 
paration for  heaven.  I  have  a  solemn  call  to  gird  my 
loins  and  keep  my  lamp  burning.  Strangely  restored 
to  health  and  strength,  considering  my  years,  by  the 
good  nursing  of  my  dear  partner,  I  ventured  to  preach 
of  late  as  often  as  I  did  formerly,  and  after  having  read 
prayers  and  preached  twice  on  Christmas  day,  &c,  I 
did  last  Sunday  what  I  had  never  done, — I  continued 
doing  duty  from  ten  till  past  four  in  the  afternoon, 
owing  to  christenings,  churchings,  and  the  sacrament, 
which  1  administered  to  a  church  full  of  people  :  so 
that  I  was  ohliged  to  go  from  the  communion  table  to 
begin  the  evening  service,  and  then  to  visit  some  sick. 
This  lias  brought  back  upon  me  one  of  my  old  dangerous 
symptoms,  so  that  I  had  flattered  myself  in  vain  to  do 
the  whole  duty  of  my  own  parish.  My  dear  wife  is 
nursing  me  with  the  tenderest  care,  gives  me  up  to  God 
with  the  greatest  resignation,  and  helps  me  to  rejoice, 
that  life  and  death,  health  and  sickness,  work  all  for 
our  <rood,  and  are  all  ours,  as  blessed  instruments  to 
forward  us  in  our  journey  to  heaven.  We  intend  to 
set  out  for  Madeley  to-morrow.  The  prospect  of  a 
winter's  journey  is  not  sweet ;  hut  the  prospect  of  meet- 
ing you  and  your  dear  sister,  and  Lady  Mary,  aryl  all 
our  other  companions  in  tribulation  in  heaven,  is  de- 
lightful. The  Lord  prepare  and  fit  us  for  that  plorious 
meeting  !    Your  most  obliged  and  affectionate  servant; 

"J.  F." 

0.  The  next  day  they  left  Cross  Hall  as  they  pro- 
posed and  set  out  on  their  journey  to  Madeley  ;  on  which 
occasion  the  friend,  who  gives  the  above  account  of  their 
marriage,  ohserves  : — "  January  2,  1782,  we  had  a  very 
solemn  parting.  But  in  the  midst  of  all  the  sorrow 
which  we  felt,  was  a  sweet  assurance  that  we  should 
meet  again,  not  only  in  this  world,  but 


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LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


'  "Where  death  shall  all  be  done  away, 
And  bodies  part  no  more.' 

This  brings  to  my  mind  a  sentence  which  he  wrote  to 
us  a  little  before  his  death.  '  Time  is  short.  It  remains 
that  we  die  daily.  Stand  fast  in  Christ,  the  resurrection 
and  the  life.  That  we  may  have  a  happy  meeting  is  the 
wish  and  prayer  of  your  affectionate  friends, 

'John  and  Mary  Fletcher.'  " 
After  their  arrival  at  Madeley,  he  writes  to  Lady  Mary 
Fitzgerald  as  follows: — "I  thank  you,  my  lady,  for  your 
kind  congratulations  on  my  marriage.  The  Lord  has 
indeed  blessed  me  with  a  partner  after  my  own  heart, — 
dead  to  the  world,  and  wanting,  as  well  as  myself,  to  be 
filled  with  all  the  life  of  God.  She  joins  me  in  dutiful 
thanks  to  your  ladyship  for  your  obliging  remembrance 
of  her  in  your  kind  letter,  and  will  help  me  to  welcome 
you  to  the  little  hermitage  we  spoke  of  last  year  in  Lon- 
don, if  your  ladyship's  health  or  taste  should  call  you  to 
retire  awhile  from  the  hurry  of  the  town."  And  about 
a  year  after,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  his  words 
are: — "I  thank  you  for  your  hint  about  exemplifying 
the  love  of  Christ  and  his  Church.  I  hope  we  do.  I 
was  afraid  at  first  to  say  much  of  the  matter  ;  for  new- 
married  people  do  not,  at  first,  know  each  other  ;  but 
having  now  lived  fourteen  months  in  my  new  state,  I 
can  tell  you,  Providence  has  reserved  a  prize  for  me, 
and  that  my  wife  is  far  better  to  me  than  the  Church  to 
Christ ;  so  that  if  the  parallel  fail,  it  will  be  on  my 
side." 

"  From  this  period,"  to  use  Mr.  Gilpin's  words,  "  Mr. 
Flcteher  considered  himself  as  possessed  of  the  last  pos- 
sible addition  to  his  earthly  happiness,  never  mention- 
ing this  memorable  event,  but  with  expressions  of  extra- 
ordinary gratitude  and  devotion  to  the  God  of  all  his 
mercies.  And  from  this  time,  to  the  other  parts  of  his 
character  must  be  added  that  of  an  attentive  and  an 
affectionate  husband,  which  he  maintained  with  a  be- 
coming mixture  of  dignity  and  sweetness  to  the  day  of 
his  death.  By  her  Christian  conversation,  her  devo- 
tional ha  bits,  and  her  spiritual  experience,  Mrs.  Fletcher 
was  peculiarly  suited  to  a  state  of  the  most  entire  and 
intimate  fellowship  with  this  eminent  servant  of  God. 
She  was  of  equal  standing  with  him  in  the  school  of 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


2g] 


Christ,  and  of  the  same  uncommon  growth  in  grace: 
she  had  drunk  of  the  same  spirit,  was  actuated  by  the 
same  zeal,  and  prepared  in  every  respect  to  accompany 
him  in  the  Christian  race.  By  her  discretion  and  pru- 
dence she  bore  the  whole  weight  of  his  domestic  cares ; 
while,  by  the  natural  activity  of  her  mind,  and  her  deep 
acquaintance  with  Divine  things,  she  seconded  his  mi- 
nisterial labours  with  astonishing  success.  Like  Zacha- 
rias  and  Elizabeth,  these  extraordinary  persons  were 
both  eminently  righteous  before  God,  walking  in  all  the 
commandments  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blameless. 
In  their  separate  stations  they  had  long  been  distin- 
guished as  lights  in  dark  places  :  but  after  uniting  their 
rays,  they  shone  with  redoubled  lustre,  putting  to  silence 
the  ignorance  of  foolish  men, and  dissipating  the  preju- 
dices which  many  had  entertained  against  the  truths  of 
the  Gospel. 

"  For  the  space  of  almost  four  years,  these  Christian 
yoke  fellows  continued  to  enjoy,  without  interruption,  all 
the  inexpressible  felicities  of  the  most  complete  union ; 
a  union  which  appeared  to  promote,  at  once,  their  own 
particular  happiness,  and  the  interests  of  the  people 
among  whom  they  jointly  laboured." 


CHAPTER  IX. 
From  his  marriage  till  the  beginning  of  his  last  illness. 

1.  From  the  time  of  his  settling  at  Madeley  with  Mrs. 
Fletcher,  he  had  no  return  of  his  consumptive  disorder. 
On  the  contrary,  by  the  blessing  of  God  on  her  peculiar 
care  and  tenderness,  not  only  his  health  was  confirmed, 
but  his  strength  restored  as  in  the  days  of  his  youth.  In 
the  meantime  he  took  care  to  employ  all  his  returning 
strength  in  the  work  of  faith  and  the  labour  of  love. 
"I  have  yet  strength  enough,"  says  he  to  Mr.  Charles 
Wesley,  Dec.  19,  1782,  "to  do  my  parish  duty  without 
the  help  of  a  curate.  O  that  the  Lord  would  help  me  to 
do  it  acceptably  and  profitably!  The  colliers  began  to 
rise  in  this  neighbourhood  :  happily  the  cockatrice's  egg 


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LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


was  crushed  before  the  serpent  came  out.  However,  I 
got  many  a  hearty  curse  from  the  colliers  for  the  plain 
words  I  spoke  on  that  occasion.  I  want  to  see  days  of 
power  both  within  and  without :  but  in  the  meantime  I 
M  ould  follow  closely  my  light  in  the  narrow  path.  My 
wife  joins  me  in  respectful  love  to  Mrs.  Wesley  and 
yourself.  J.  F." 

More  particularly  Mr.  Fletcher  was  diligent  in  that 
which  he  had  always  found  to  be  one  of  the  most  diffi- 
cult parts  of  his  duty.  There  were  in  the  parish  of 
Madeley  no  less  than  eighteen  public  houses.  They 
were  continual  nurseries  for  sin,  particularly  on  Sunday 
evenings.  It  had  been,  for  many  years,  his  unwearied 
endeavour  to  put  an  end  to  these  abuses.  Yet,  as  he 
very  seldom  had  a  church  warden  who  was  heartily  will- 
ing to  second  him  therein,  his  endeavours  were  almost 
ineffectual,  producing  very  little  fruit.  But  for  two 
years  God  was  now  pleased  to  favour  him  with  a  church 
warden  who  was  resolved  to  act  according  to  his  oath: 
he  then  cheerfully  renewed  his  endeavours,  visiting 
several  of  these  houses  every  Sunday,  (all  of  them  in 
their  turn.)  In  every  one  he  bore  a  faithful  testimony  ; 
and  in  some  it  was  attended  with  much  good.  O  that 
no  one  of  those  who  have  been  at  any  time  within  the 
reach  of  his  voice  may  finally  inherit  that  curse,  Behold, 
ye  despisers,  and  wonder,  and  perish. 

2.  For  many  years  he  had  felt,  with  the  deepest  sen- 
sibility, the  disconsolate  condition  of  poor,  uninstructed 
children  :  and  some  years  ago  he  began  a  school,  wherein 
he  taught  them  himself  every  day.  After  pursuing  this 
method  for  some  time,  he  erected  a  school  in  Madeley 
Wood.  But  afterward  his  thoughts  were  much  engaged 
concerning  the  utility  of  Sunday  schools  ;  especially 
after  they  were  recommended  to  him  by  Mrs.  Darby, 
an  intelligent  and  pious  person,  whom  he  always  found 
ready  to  promote  every  good  work.  He  then  earnestly 
set  about  promoting  them  in  his  own  parish.  Three 
hundred  children  were  soon  gathered  together,  whom 
he  took  every  opportunity  of  instructing,  by  regular 
meetings,  for  some  time  before  the  schools  were  opened. 
These  meetings  he  attended  with  the  utmost  diligence, 
till  the  very  Thursday  before  his  illness.  In  order  to 
encourage  the  children,  his  method  was  to  give  them 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


283 


little  hymn  books,  pointing  them  to  some  friend  or 
neighbour  who  would  teach  them  the  hymns,  and  in- 
struct them  to  sing.  The  little  creatures  were  greatly 
taken  with  this  new  employment :  insomuch  that  many 
of  them  would  scarce  allow  themselves  time  to  eat  or 
sleep,  for  the  desire  they  had  of  learning  their  lessons. 
At  every  meeting,  after  inquiring  who  had  made  the 
greatest  proficiency,  he  distinguished  them  by  some 
small  rewards. 

3.  In  instructing  of  children,  one  great  difficulty  is  to 
draw  and  fix  their  attention.  He  had  a  singular  gift  for 
doing  this,  as  appears  by  the  following  anecdote,  and 
others  that  might  be  related,  if  need  were  : — Once  when 
he  visited  Kingswood  school,  having  collected  all  the 
youths  together,  and  secretly  addressed  the  throne  of 
irrace,  he  called  for  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  told  the  scholars 
he  came  to  seek  for  volunteers  for  Christ,  and  desired 
all  those  who  were  willing  to  enlist  in  his  service,  to 
enter  their  names  on  the  paper.  A  peculiar  blessing 
attended  the  proposal :  it  led  several  of  them  to  a  seri- 
ous concern  for  their  souls,  and  to  a  resolution  of  giving 
themselves  up  to  live  and  die  in  the  Lord's  service.  At 
another  time  when  he  had  a  considerable  number  of 
children  before  him  in  a  place  in  his  parish,  as  he  was 
persuading  them  to  mind  what  they  were  about,  and  to 
remember  the  text  which  he  was  going  to  mention,  just 
then  a  robin  flew  into  the  house,  and  their  eyes  were 
presently  turned  after  him.  "  Now,''  said  he,  "  I  see 
you  can  attend  to  that  robin.  Well,  I  will  take  that 
robin  for  my  text."  He  then  gave  them  a  useful  lec- 
ture on  the  harmlcssness  of  that  little  creature,  and  the 
tender  care  of  its  Creator. 

4.  When  he  observed  that  the  number  of  children, 
instead  of  falling  off,  as  was  expected,  increased  con- 
tinually, he  wrote  some  proposals  to  the  parish,  which 
were  received  with  the  greatest  unanimity.  Many  of 
the  rich  as  well  as  the  trading  people  lent  their  helping- 
hand,  not  only  to  defray  the  expense  of  teachers,  but 
also  to  raise  a  convenient  house  in  Coalbrook  Dale,  for 
the  instruction  of  the  numerous  children  that  were  on 
that  side  of  the  parish. 

5.  He  prefaced  the  proposals  thus: — "Our  national 
depravity  turns  greatly  on  these  two  hinges,  the  pro- 


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fanation  of  the  Lord's  day,  and  the  neglect  of  the  edu- 
cation of  children.  Till  some  way  be  found  of  stopping 
up  these  two  great  inlets  of  wickedness,  we  must  ex- 
pect to  see  our  workhouses  filled  with  aged  parents  for- 
saken by  their  prodigal  children,  with  wives  forsaken 
by  their  faithless  husbands,  and  with  the  wretched 
offspring  of  lewd  women  and  drunken  men.  Nay,  we 
may  expect  to  see  the  jails,  and  even  the  gallows,  largely 
stocked  (to  the  perpetual  reproach  of  our  nation)  with 
unhappy  wretches  ready  to  fall  a  sacrifice  to  the  laws 
of  their  country.  'It  is  a  common  observation,  (says 
Dr.  Gibson,  late  bishop  of  London,)  that  public  crimi- 
nals, when  they  come  to  their  unhappy  end,  and  make 
their  dying  declarations  to  the  world,  generally  charge 
the  sinful  courses  in  which  they  have  lived,  to  the  ne- 
glect and  abuse  of  the  Lord's  day,  as  the  first  occasion 
of  leading  them  into  all  other  wickedness.  And  consi- 
dering how  frequently  these  declarations  are  repeated, 
and  how  many  other  instances  of  the  same  kind,  though 
less  public,  are  notorious  enough  to  those  who  will  observe 
them  ;  they  may  well  be  a  warning  to  us  to  consider  a 
religious  observation  of  the  Lord's  day  as  the  best  pre- 
servative of  virtue  and  religion,  and  the  neglect  and 
profanation  of  it  as  the  greatest  inlet  to  vice  and  wicked- 
ness.' 

"  A  pious  clergyman  farther  observes  : — '  The  want 
of  education  in  children  is  one  of  the  principal  causes 
of  the  misery  of  families,  cities,  and  nations  ;  ignorance, 
vice,  and  misery,  being  constant  companions.  The 
hardest  heart  must  melt  at  the  melancholy  sight  of  such 
a  number  of  children,  both  male  and  female,  who  live 
in  gross  ignorance  and  habitual  profanation  of  the  Lord's 
day.  What  crowds  fill  the  streets  and  fields,  tempting 
each  other  to  idleness,  lewdness,  and  every  other  species 
of  wickedness  ?  Is  it  any  wonder  that  we  should  have  so 
many  undutiful  children,  unfaithful  apprentices,  disobe- 
dient servants,  untrusty  workmen,  disloyal  subjects,  and 
bad  members  of  society  ?  Whence  so  much  rapine,  for- 
nication, and  blasphemy  ?  Do  not  all  these  evils  centre 
in  ignorance  and  contempt  of  the  Lord's  day  ?  And 
shall  we  do  nothing  to  check  these  growing  evils?' 

"  Persons  concerned  for  the  welfare  of  the  next  gene- 
ration, and  well  wishers  to  Church  and  state,  have 


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285 


already  set  us  a  fair  example  in  Stroud,  Gloucester,  Bir- 
mingham, Manchester,  Leeds,  Bristol,  and  many  coun- 
try parishes.  They  have  attempted  to  remedy  these 
evils  by  setting  up  Sunday  schools,  which,  by  keeping 
children  from  corrupting  one  another,  by  promoting 
their  attendance  on  Divine  worship,  and  by  planting  the 
first  principles  of  useful  knowledge  in  their  minds,  and 
of  piety  in  their  hearts,  bid  fair  for  a  public  reformation 
of  manners,  and  for  nipping,  in  the  bud,  the  ignorance 
and  impiety  which  are  everywhere  so  common  among 
the  lower  and  more  numerous  classes  of  people." 

6.  The  proposals  concerning  Sunday  schools  in  the 
parish  of  Madeley  were  as  follows  : — 

I.  It  is  proposed,  That  Sunday  schools  be  set  up  in 
this  parish,  for  such  children  as  are  employed  all  the 
week,  and  for  those  whose  education  has  been  hitherto 
totally  neglected. 

II.  That  the  children  admitted  into  these  be  taught 
reading,  writing,  and  the  principles  of  religion. 

III.  That  there  be  a  school  for  boys,  and  another  for 
girls,  in  Madeley,  Madeley  Wood,  and  Coalbrook  Dale, 
six  in  all. 

IV.  That  a  subscription  be  opened  to  pay  each  teacher 
one  shilling  per  Sunday,  and  to  buy  tables,  forms,  books, 
pens,  and  ink. 

V.  That  two  treasurers  be  appointed  to  ask  and  receire 
the  contributions  of  the  subscribers. 

VI.  That  whosoever  subscribes  one  guinea  a  year 
shall  be  a  governor. 

VII.  That  three  or  four  inspectors  be  appointed,  who 
are  to  visit  the  schools  once  a  week,  to  see  that  the  chil- 
dren attend  regularly,  and  the  masters  do  their  duty. 

VIII.  That  a  book  be  provided  for  setting  down  all 
receipts  and  expenses  ;  and  another  for  the  names  of 
the  teachers  and  scholars. 

IX.  That  the  schools  be  solemnly  visited  once  or 
twice  a  year ;  and  a  premium  given  to  the  children  that 
have  made  the  greatest  improvement. 

7.  As  to  the  success  of  his  unwearied  labours,  although 
he  was  much  discouraged  when  he  first  returned  from 
abroad,  finding  so  many  of  those  who  had  once  run  well, 
grown  weary  and  faint  in  their  minds  ;  yet  it  was  not 
long  before  he  found  fresh  cause  to  rejoice,  and  to  know 


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that  God  was  with  him  of  a  truth.  It  was  not  long  be- 
fore he  observed  a  general  reformation  had  taken  place 
in  the  parish.  And  it  was  not  only  an  outward  reforma- 
tion, even  of  many  that  had  been  notorious  for  all 
manner  of  wickedness  ;  but  an  inward  also  :  many,  both 
young  and  old,  having  learned  to  worship  God  in  spirit 
and  in  truth.  A  considerable  number  of  these  still 
mourn  their  loss  of  him,  as  sheep  bereaved  of  their 
shepherd.  And  yet  one  cannot  doubt  but  a  still  larger 
company  of  his  own  children  have  hailed  him  on  the 
celestial  shore.  But  the  season  is  coming  .when  all 
secrets  shall  be  laid  open ;  and  all  the  jewels  of  his 
crown  shall  be  made  manifest  in  that  day. 

8.  One  instance  of  the  effect  of  his  minstry,  he  men- 
tioned some  years  since  at  Bristol.  "  One  Sunday," 
said  he,  "  when  I  had  done  reading  prayers  at  Madeley, 
I  went  up  into  the  pulpit,  intending  to  preach  a  sermon 
which  I  had  prepared  for  that  purpose.  But  my  mind 
was  so  confused  that  I  could  not  recollect  either  my  text 
or  any  part  of  my  sermon.  I  was  afraid  I  should  be 
obliged  to  come  down,  without  saying  any  thing.  But 
having  recollected  myself  a  little,  I  thought  I  would 
say  something  on  the  first  lesson,  which  was  the  third 
chapter  of  Daniel,  containing  the  account  of  the  three 
worthies  cast  into  the  fiery  furnace :  I  found,  in  doing 
it,  such  an  extraordinary  assistance  from  God,  and  such 
a  singular  enlargement  of  heart,  that  I  supposed  there 
must  be  some  peculiar  cause  for  it.  I  therefore  desired, 
if  any  of  the  congregation  had  met  with  any  thing  par- 
ticular, they  would  acquaint  me  with  it  in  the  ensuing 
week. 

"  In  consequence  of  this,  the  Wednesday  after,  a  per- 
son came,  and  gave  me  the  following  account : — Mrs.  K. 
had  been  for  some  time  much  concerned  about  her  soul. 
She  attended  the  church  at  all  opportunities,  and  spent 
much  time  in  private  prayer.  At  this,  her  husband  (who 
is  a  butcher)  was  exceedingly  enraged,  and  threatened 
severely  what  he  would  do,  if  she  did  not  leave  off  going 
to  John  Fletcher's  church :  yea,  if  she  dared  to  go  any 
more  to  any  religious  meetings  whatever.  When  she 
told  him  she  could  not  in  conscience  refrain  from  going, 
at  least  to  the  parish  church,  he  grew  quite  outrageous, 
and  swore  dreadfully  if  she  went  any  more  he  would  cut 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


287 


her  throat  as  soon  as  she  came  home.  This  made  her 
cry  mightily  to  God  that  he  would  support  her  in  the 
trying  hour.  And  though  she  did  not  feel  any  great 
degree  of  comfort,  yet  having  a  sure  confidence  in  God, 
she  determined  to  go  on  in  her  duty,  and  leave  the  event 
to  him.  Last  Sunday,  after  many  struggles  with  the 
devil  and  her  own  heart,  she  came  down  stairs  ready 
for  church.  Her  husband  asked  her  whether  she  was 
resolved  to  go  thither  ?  She  told  him  she  was.  'Well 
then,'  said  he,  '  I  shall  not,  as  I  intended,  cut  your  throat ; 
but  I  will  heat  the  oven,  and  throw  you  into  it  the  mo- 
ment you  come  home.'  Notwithstanding  this  threaten- 
ing, which  he  enforced  with  many  bitter  oaths,  she  went 
to  church,  praying  all  the  way  that  God  would  strengthen 
her  to  suffer  whatever  might  befall  her.  While  you 
were  speaking  of  the  three  Hebrews  whom  Nebuchad- 
nezzar cast  into  the  burning  fiery  furnace,  she  found  it 
all  belonged  to  her,  and  God  applied  every  word  to  her 
heart.  And  when  the  sermon  was  ended,  she  thought 
if  she  had  a  thousand  lives  she  could  lay  them  all  down 
for  God.  She  felt  her  whole  soul  so  filled  with  his 
love,  that  she  hastened  home,  fully  determined  to  give 
herself  to  whatsoever  God  pleased;  nothing  doubting 
but  that  either  he  would  take  her  to  heaven  if  he  suf- 
fered her  to  be  burned  to  death,  or  that  he  would  some 
way  deliver  her  even  as  he  did  his  three  servajits  that 
trusted  in  him.  But  when  she  opened  the  door,  to  her 
astonishment  and  comfort  she  found  her  husband's  wrath 
abated,  and  soon  had  reason  to  believe  that  he  was 
under  a  concern  for  the  salvation  of  his  soul.  The  next 
Lord's  day,  contrary  to  his  former  ungodly  custom,  he 
attended  Divine  service  at  the  church,  and  even  received 
the  Lord's  Supper.  These  good  impressions,  however, 
it  is  feared,  have  not  produced  any  lasting  change  on 
his  heart  and  life.  But  I  now  know  why  my  sermon 
was  taken  from  me,  namely,  that  God  might  thus  mag- 
nify his  mercy." 

G.  Many  were  the  dangers  he  went  through  in  the 
course  of  his  ministry ;  but  the  Lord  delivered  him  out 
of  them  all.  One  of  these  Mrs.  Fletcher  relates  in  the 
following  words: — 

My  husband  having  appointed  to  preach  one  Sunday 
at  a  church  about  fourteen  miles  off,  I  felt  some  concern 


288 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


for  his  riding  so  far,  and  doing  the  whole  Sunday's  duty 
twice  :  especially  as  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  return 
home  the  same  night.  The  evening  being  exceeding 
dark  and  wet,  I  was  strongly  led  to  commend  him  to 
God  in  prayer.  While  I  was  doing  this,  it  was  sug- 
gested to  me  that  his  horse  was  fallen,  and  had  thrown 
him  over  his  head  :  and  the  whole  scene  appeared  to  be 
clearly  represented  before  my  eyes.  '  My  God,'  said  I, 
'  he  is  thine.  His  life,  his  limbs,  his  health,  all  are 
thine  !  I  commit  him  to  thee  by  faith.'  Immediately 
that  word  was  impressed  on  my  heart,  The  righteous  is 
in  the  hand  of  the  Lord  :  and  there  shall  no  evil  touch 
him.  And  it  filled  my  soul  with  such  a  sweetness  that 
I  could  feel  no  fear.  The  night  was  uncommonly  bad, 
which  occasioned  many  friends  to  continue  with  me. 
And  while  they  expressed  their  great  uneasiness  at  his 
staying  two  hours  longer  than  we  could  well  account 
for,  I  was  obliged  to  hide  the  calmness  I  felt  by  silence, 
lest  some  should  have  supposed  it  insensibility.  At  last 
he  came  well,  and  praising  God  ;  but  asked  for  water 
to  wash  himself,  because  his  horse  had  fallen,  and  thrown 
him  with  great  force  over  his  head.  Yet,  glory  be  to 
God,  he  was  noway  hurt,  except  having  a  little  skin 
grazed  from  one  of  his  fingers.  As  he  set  the  Lord 
always  before  him,  so  he  found  his  help  in  every  time 
of  need." 

10.  In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1783,  his  kind  friend 
arid  host,  Mr.  Greenwood,  was  called  away.  On  this 
mournful  occasion  he  writes  as  follows  to  Mrs.  Thorn- 
ton : — 

"  Yesterday  I  received  your  melancholy,  joyful  letter, 
as  I  came  from  the  sacrament,  where  the  grace  of  God 
had  armed  me  to  meet  the  awful  news.  And  is  mjr  mer- 
ciful host  gone  to  reap  the  fruit  of  his  mercy  to  me  ?  I 
thought  I  should  have  been  permitted  to  go  first  and 
welcome  him  into  everlasting  habitations  ;  but  Provi- 
dence has  ordered  it  otherwise,  and  I  am  left  behind,  to 
say,  with  you  and  clear  Mrs.  Greenwood,  The  Lord 
gave,  and  has  taken  away,  and  blessed  be  his  holy 
name. 

"  The  glory  with  which  his  setting  sun  was  gilded,  is 
the  greatest  comfort  by  which  Heaven  could  alleviate 
his  loss.    Let  me  die  as  he  did,  and  let  my  last  end  be 


LIFE  OF  RF.V.  J.  FLETCHER. 


289 


like  his  !  I  was  so  sensibly  affected  by  your  account, 
that  I  could  not  help  reading  part  of  your  letter  at 
church  in  the  afternoon,  and  desiring  all  the  congrega- 
tion to  join  me  in  thanksgiving,  for  the  late  mercies  he 
had  vouchsafed  to  my  generous  benefactor.  On  such 
occasions  let  sighs  be  lost  in  praise  ;  and  repining  in 
humble  submission  and  thankful  acquiescence.  I  hope 
dear  Mrs.  Greenwood  mixes  a  tear  of  joy  with  a  tear 
of  sorrow.  Who  would  not  be  landed  on  the  other  side 
the  stream  of  time,  if  he  were  sure  of  such  a  passage  T 
Who  would  wisb  his  best  friend  back  on  the  shores  of 
sorrow,  so  triumphantly  left  by  Mr.  Greenwood? 

"  So  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pcrronet  are  no  more  ;  and  Laza- 
rus is  still  alive  !  What  scenes  does  this  world  afford  ! 
But  the  most  amazing  is  certainly  that  of  Emanuel  cruci- 
fied and  otfering  us  pardons  and  crowns  of  glory  !  May 
we  ever  gaze  at  that  wonderful  object,  until  it  has  formed 
us  into  love,  peace,  and  joy  !  We  thank  you  for  the 
sweet  name  you  still  call  us  by,  and  we  heartily  take 
the  hint,  and  subscribe  ourselves  your  affectionate, 
grateful  friends,  and  ready  servants  in  Christ, 

"  J.  and  M.  F." 

1 1 .  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  had  been  earnestly  requested 
by  several  serious  persons  at  Dublin,  to  come  over  and 
spend  a  few  weeks  in  that  city,  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
moting the  interests  of  religion,  by  their  godly  exhorta- 
tions and  example.  As  long  as  civility  or  piety  would 
suffer  it,  they  declined  the  journey :  but,  after  being  re- 
peatedly urged  to  undertake  it,  at  the  united  instances 
of  the  Methodist  society,  they  judged  it  improper  any 
longer  to  withhold  their  consent,  lest  in  disregarding 
the  solicitations  of  a  willing  people,  they  should  disobey 
the  summons  of  God.  Accordingly,  in  the  summer  of 
this  year,  (1784,)  they  accepted  the  invitation,  and  ap- 
peared for  a  season  in  another  kingdom,  as  two  burning 
and  shining  lights.  A  gentleman  of  Dublin,  who  enjoyed 
much  of  their  company  during  this  holy  visit,  writes  as 
follows : — 

"I  wish  it  were  in  my  power  to  send  you  any  anec- 
dotes of  our  dear  deceased  friend.  But,  unless  I  were 
to  send  you  an  account  of  the  words  and  actions  of 
every  day,  I  know  not  where  to  begin.  One  particular 
circumstance,  however,  I  will  relate.    Upon  his  going 


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LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


to  leave  us,  knowing  the  scanty  pittance  he  received 
from  his  parish,  we  thought  it  but  an  act  of  common 
honesty  to  refund  him  the  expense  he  had  been  at  in 
coming,  and  to  bear  his  charges  back  again.  Accord- 
ingly, after  he  had  preached,  on  the  last  evening  of  his 
stay  among  us,  the  steward  and  trustees  united  to  press 
his  acceptance  of  a  small  purse,  not  as  a  present,  but  as 
a  debt  justly  due  to  him.  But  he  firmly  and  absolutely 
refused  it.  At  length,  being  very  urgent  with  him,  and 
importuate  to  an  excess,  he  took  the  purse  in  his  hand. 
'  Well,'  said  he,  '  do  you  really  force  it  upon  me  ?  Must 
I  accept  of  it?  Is  it  entirely  mine?  And  may  I  do 
with  it  as  I  please  ?'  4  Yes,  yes,'  we  all  replied.  '  God 
be  praised,  then,  God  be  praised,'  said  he,  casting  his 
brimful  eyes  to  heaven,  '  behold  what  a  mercy  is  here ! 
Your  poor's  fund  was  just  out :  I  heard  some  of  you 
complaining  that  it  was  never  so  low  before.  Take  this 
purse.  God  has  sent  it  you,  raised  it  among  yourselves, 
and  bestowed  it  upon  your  poor.  You  cannot  deny  me. 
It  is  sacred  to  them.  God  be  praised  !  I  thank  you,  I 
heartily  thank  you,  my  dear  kind  brethren.' 

"Thus  was  his  free  Gospel  a  bountiful  provision  for 
our  poor,  while  this  last  generous  action  served  to  har- 
row in  the  precious  seed  that  his  labour  of  love  had  been 
sowing  among  us.  Indeed,  it  was  a  crowning  of  his 
labours,  a  sealing  of  his  message  that  will  never  be  for- 
gotten by  us,  that  is  registered  in  the  pages  of  eternity, 
and  will  follow  him  among  those  works  that  he  ever 
gloried  to  cast  at  the  feet  of  Jesus." 

12.  From  Dublin,  Aug.  23,  he  wrote  to  Lady  Mary 
Fitzgerald  as  follows  : — 

"Honoured  and  Dear  Madam, — I  see  the  truth  of 
those  words  of  our  Lord,  In  me  ye  shall  have  peace, 
comfort,  strength,  and  joy  ;  be  of  good  cheer.  We  came 
here  to  see  the  members  of  our  Lord,  and  we  find  you 
removed,  and  removing  farther  still  than  you  now 
are.  What  docs  this  providence  teach  us  ?  I  learn  that 
I  must  rejoice  in  the  Lord  above  all  his  members,  and 
find  them  all  in  him,  who  fills  all  in  all ;  who  is  the  life 
of  all  our  friends,  the  joy  of  all  our  brethren.  If  our 
Lord  be  your  life,  your  strength,  and  your  all,  you  can- 
not go  from  your  spiritual  friends  ;  they  will  meet  you 
in  the  common  centre  of  all  life  and  righteousness  ; 


LIFE  OF  REV,  J.  FLETCHER. 


291 


there  they  will  bless  you,  rejoice  in  your  joy,  and  sym- 
pathize in  your  sorrow. 

"  It'  Providence  call  you  to  England  by  Scotland,  by 
which  route  your  ladyship  apprehends  so  much  difficulty, 
you  know  we  must,  at  least,  go  to  heaven  by  a  way 
equally  painful, — the  narrow  way,  the  way  marked  with 
blood,  and  with  the  tears  and  cross  of  the  Son  of  God  ; 
and  if  we  follow  him  weeping,  we  shall  return  with  ever- 
lasting joy  on  our  heads.  Even  now  the  foretaste  of 
those  joys  is  given  to  us  through  hope,  for  by  hope  we 
are  saved.  Let  our  faith  and  hope  be  in  God,  rooted 
and  grounded  in  him,  who  gives  vital  heat  to  our  hearts, 
and  who  fans  there  the  spark  of  grace  which  his  mercy 
has  kindled  ;  and  may  that  spark,  by  the  inspiration  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  become  a  fire  of  holy  love,  heavenly 
zeal,  and  heavenly  glory.  Such  power  belongeth  to  the 
Almighty. 

"  M  v  dear  partner,  who,  like  myself,  is  deeply  sensi- 
ble of  your  ladyship's  kindness  in  remembering  us,  joins 
me  in  thanks  for  your  obliging  note,  and  in  cordial 
wishes  that  all  the  desires  of  your  believing  soul  may 
be  granted  you  both  for  time,  death,  and  cterni'y.  We 
subscribe  ourselves  with  grateful  sincerity,  honoured 
madam,  your  devoted  servants  in  our  bleeding  Lord, 
"J.  and  M.  F." 

13.  While  in  Dublin,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  were 
entertained  chiefly  at  the  house  of  William  Smyth,  Esq. 
On  their  return  to  Madeley,  in  November,  they  express- 
ed their  gratitude  for  the  kindness  shown  them  in  the 
following  words  : — 

"  Dear  Sir, — The  many  great  favours  you  have 
loaded  us  with,  during  our  long  stay  under  your  hospi- 
table roof,  prompted  us  to  make  the  earliest  acknow- 
ledgment of  our  obligations,  and  to  beg  you  would  receive, 
our  warmest  thanks  for  such  unexpected  and  undeserved 
tokens  of  your  brotherly  love.  But  the  desire  of  filling 
our  only  frank  has  hindered  their  being  more  early 
traced  upon  paper;  though  they  have  been,  are  now, 
and,  we  trust,  shall  ever  be  deeply  engraven  on  our 
hearts.  You  have  united  for  us  the  Irish  hospitality, 
the  English  cordiality,  anil  the  French  politeness.  And 
now.  sir,  what  shall  we  say?  You  are  our  generous 
benefactor,  and  we  are  your  affectionate,  though  unpro- 


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fitable  servants.  In  one  sense  we  are  on  a  level  with 
those  to  whom  you  show  charity  in  the  streets;  we  can 
do  nothing  but  pray  for  you,  your  dear  partner,  and 
yours.  You  kindly  received  us  for  Christ's  sake  ;  may 
God  receive  you  freely  for  his  sake  also  !  You  have 
borne  with  our  infirmities :  the  Lord  bear  with  yours 
also  !  You  have  let  your  servant  serve  us:  the  Lord 
give  all  his  servants  and  his  angels  charge  concerning 
you,  that  you  hurt  not  your  foot  against  a  stone,  and 
may  be  helped  out  of  every  difficulty  !  You  have  given 
us  a  most  pleasing  resting  place,  and  comfortable  apart- 
ment under  your  roof,  and  next  your  own  chamber  :  the 
Lord  grant  you  eternal  rest  with  him  in  the  heavenly 
mansions !  May  he  himself  be  your  habitation  and  rest- 
ing place  for  ever;  and  place  you  and  yours  with  his 
own  jewels,  in  the  choicest  repository  of  precious  things  ! 
You  have  fed  us  with  the  richest  food:  may  the  Giver 
of  every  perfect  gift  fit  you  for  a  place  at  his  table,  and 
may  you  rank  there  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob! 
You  have  given  us  wines:  may  you  drink  with  Christ 
himself  the  fruit  of  the  vine,  new  in  your  Father's 
kingdom  !  You  have  given  us  a  rich  provision  for  the 
way  :  when  you  cross  the  flood.,  the  deep  flood  of  death, 
may  you  find  that  your  heavenly  Lord  has  made  such  a 
rich  provision  of  faith,  righteousness,  hope,  and  joy  for 
you,  that  you  may  rejoice,  triumph,  and  sing,  while  you 
leave  your  earthly  friends  to  go  home !  which,  by  the 
by,  is  more  than  we  are  enabled  to  do ;  for,  instead  of 
singing  in  our  cabins,  there  was  very  different  melody. 

"  However,  we  could  soon,  with  grateful,  joyful  hearts, 
look  back  from  the  British  to  the  Irish  shore,  and  greet 
in  spirit  the  dear  friends  we  had  left  there.  The  Lord 
bless  and  increase  them  in  spiritual,  and  if  best  for  them, 
in  temporal  goods  also  !  The  Lord  crown  them  and 
theirs  with  loving  kindness,  and  mercies  equal  to  the 
love  of  our  God,  and  the  merits  of  our  Saviour!  And 
now,  dear  sir,  what  shall  I  add  ?  I  cannot  now  even  see 
my  Bible,  but  through  the  medium  of  your  love,  and  the 
token  with  which  it  alternately  loads  my  pocket  and  my 
hand.  I  cannot  even  seal  a  letter  with  a  good  wafer, 
but  I  find  a  new  call  to  repeat  my  thanks  to  you.  I 
would  begin  again,  but  my  scrap  of  paper  is  full,  as  well 
as  my  heart  •   and  I  must  spare  a  line  to  tell  you  that  I 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


293 


had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  our  kind  benefactress,  Mrs. 
Smyth,  safe  at  Bristol,  with  her  little  charge  and  Lady 
Mary.  We  remain,  dear  sir,  your  most  affectionate  and 
most  obliged  pensioners  and  servants, 

"J.  and  M.  F." 
At  the  same  time  they  addressed  an  affectionate  letter 
to  the  members  of  the  Methodist  society  in  Dublin,  from 
which  I  present  the  reader  with  the  following  short  ex- 
tract:— 

"To  all  the  dear  brethren  who,  after  kindly  inviting 
John  and  Mary  Fletcher,  patiently  bearing  with  them 
and  their  infirmities,  and  entertaining  them  in  the  most 
hospitable.  Christian  manner,  have  added  to  all  their 
former  favours  that  of  thanking  them  for  their  most 
pleasant  and  profitable  journey: — 

"Brethren  and  Dearly  Beloved  in  the  Lord, — 
We  had  felt  shame  enough  under  the  sense  of  your 
kindness  and  patience  toward  us,  and  of  our  unprofita- 
bleness toward  you,  when  at  Dublin.  You  needed  not 
have  added  to  our  shame,  by  the  new  token  of  your  love, 
the  friendly  letter  we  have  received  from  you.  We  are 
indebted  to  you,  dear  brethren  ;  we  owed  you  the  letter 
of  thanks  you  have  gratuitously  sent.  But  in  all  things 
you  will  have  the  pre-eminence,  and  we  are  glad  to 
drink  the  cup  of  humility  at  your  feet.  May  the  Lord, 
who  can  part  the  sea  by  the  touch  of  a  rod,  and  could 
at  first  cause  the  earth  to  bring  forth  abundantly  all 
manner  of  trees  and  plants  without  seed,  so  bless  the 
seed  of  the  word,  which  we  sowed  in  great  weakness 
among  you,  as  to  make  it  produce  a  full  crop  of  humble 
repentance,  cheerful  faith,  triumphant  hope,  and  the 
sanctifying  influences  of  God's  Spirit  in  your  hearts,  in 
all  your  families,  in  all  your  assemblies,  and  in  your 
whole  society!  If  your  profuse  liberality  toward  us 
abounded  to  the  comfort  of  our  poor  brethren,  Ave  doubly 
rejoice  on  your  account,  and  on  theirs.'''' 

14.  The  laying  the  foundation  of  the  Sunday  schools 
at  Madeley  was  the  last  public  work  in  which  he  was 
employed.  But,  as  the  liberal  man  is  ever  devising  libe- 
ral things,  he  had  several  plans  in  his  mind  for  providing 
for  a  great  number  of  desolate  children,  brought  up  only 
to  beg  and  steal.  Such  this  populous  parish,  and  indeed 
most  others,  afford  in  great  abundance.    He  had  like- 


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LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


wise  proposed  writing  various  little  tracts,  for  the  use 
of  the  schools.  But  He  who  cannot  err,  saw  good  to 
call  his  servant  hence  to  enjoy,  rather  than  leave  him 
here  to  do  and  suffer. 

15.  I  shall  conclude  this  chapter  with  some  short 
extracts  from  two  or  three  of  his  letters  to  his  friends, 
written  during  the  last  year  of  his  life.  These  I  shall 
here  insert  with  a  view  to  show  that  his  ideas  of,  and 
zeal  for,  spiritual,  experimental,  and  practical  religion, 
including  universal  holiness  of  heart  and  life,  continued 
unvaried  to  the  end  of  his  days,  and  that  to  the  last  he 
V  walked  by  the  same  rule"  by  which  he  had  walked 
from  the  beginning,  "minded  the  same  things,"  and  per- 
severed "to  press  to  the  mark,  for  the  prize  of  his  high 
calling,"  never  satisfied  with  what  he  had  attained. 

September  13,  1784,  he  writes  to  Mr.  Ireland  thus  : — 
"  Surely  the  Lord  keeps  us  both  in  slippery  places  that 
we  may  still  sit  loose  to  all  below.  Let  us  do  so  more 
and  more,  and  make  the  best  of  those  days  which  the 
Lord  grants  us  to  finish  the  work  he  has  given  us  to  do. 

0  let  us  fall  in  with  the  gracious  designs  of  his  provi- 
e'ence  :  trim  our  lamps,  gird  our  loins,  and  prepare  to 
escape  to  the  heavenly  shore,  as  Paul  did,  when  he  saw 
the  leaky  ship  ready  to  go  to  the  bottom,  and  made  him- 
self ready  to  swim  to  the  land. 

"  I  keep  in  my  sentry  box  till  Providence  remove  me : 
my  situation  is  quite  suited  to  my  little  strength  ;  I  may 
do  as  much  or  as  little  as  I  please,  according  to  my 
weakness :  and  I  have  an  advantage  which  I  can  have 
nowhere  else,  in  such  a  degree  : — my  little  field  of  action 
is  just  at  my  door,  so  that  if  I  happen  to  overdo  myself, 

1  have  but  a  step  from  my  pulpit  to  my  bed,  and  from 
my  bed  to  my  grave.  If  I  had  a  body  full  of  vigour, 
and  a  purse  full  of  money,  I  should  like  well  enough 
to  travel  about  as  Mr.  Wesley  does  ;  but  as  Providence 
does  not  call  me  to  it,  I  readily  submit.  The  snail  does 
best  in  its  shell :  were  it  to  aim  at  galloping  like  the  race 
horse,  it  would  be  ridiculous  indeed.  I  thank  God,  my 
wife,  who  joins  me  in  thanks  to  you  for  your  kind  offer, 
is  quite  of  my  mind  with  respect  to  the  call  we  have  to  a 
sedentary  life.  We  are  two  poor  invalids,  who  between 
us  make  half  a  labourer. 

"She  sweetly  helps  me  to  drink  the  dregs  of  life,  and 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


295 


to  carry  with  case  the  daily  cross.  Neither  of  us  are 
long  for  this  world  ;  we  see  it,  we  feel  it,  and  by  looking 
at  death  and  his  Conqueror,  we  fight  beforehand  our  last 
battle  with  that  last  enemy  whom  our  dear  Lord  hath 
overcome  for  us." 

Jan.  21,  1785,  he  says  to  Mrs.  Thornton  : — "  Between 
the  living  and  the  dead,  (being  dying  worms  ourselves,) 
what  manner  of  people  ought  we  to  be  in  our  generation  ? 
If  we  cannot  be  what  we  would,  burning  and  shining 
lights,  showing  forth  the  glory,  the  mercy,  the  love  of 
our  Lord,  as  those  who  flame  with  indefatigable  zeal, 
and  run  a  race  of  immense  labours,  let  us  at  least  lie 
meekly  at  Christ's  feet  as  Mary,  or  patiently  hang  on 
the  cross  as  our  common  Lord. 

"  I  want  much  to  know  how  you  all  do  in  soul  and 
body :  as  for  me,  I  make  just  shift  to  fill  up  my  little 
sentry  box,  by  the  help  of  my  dear  partner.  Had  we 
more  strength  we  should  have  opportunity  enough  to 
exert  it.  O  that  we  were  but  truly  faithful  in  our  little 
place !  Your  great  stage  of  London  is  too  high  for  peo- 
ple of  little  ability  and  little  strength,  and  therefore  we 
are  afraid  of  venturing  upon  it,  lest  the  consequence 
should  be  our  bringing  new  burdens  on  our  generous 
friends.  We  should  be  glad  to  rise  high  in  usefulness; 
but  God,  who  needs  us  not,  calls  us  to  sink  in  deep  re- 
signation and  humility.    His  will  be  done  !" 

To  Mr.  Henry  Brooke,  Feb.  28,  his  words  are: — 
"We  are  all  shadows.  Your  mortal  parent  hath  passed 
away;  and  we  pass  away  after  him.  Blessed  be  the 
Author  of  every  good  and  perfect  gift  for  the  shadow  of 
his  eternal  paternity  displayed  to  us  in  our  deceased 
parents.  What  was  good,  loving,  and  lovely  in  them,  is 
hid  with  Christ  in  God  ;  where  we  may  still  enjoy  it 
implicitly,  and  where  we  shall  explicitly  enjoy  it  when 
he  shall  appear.  A  lesson  I  learn  daily  is  to  see  things 
and  persons  in  their  invisible  root,  and  in  their  eternal 
principle ;  where  they  are  not  subject  to  change,  decay, 
and  death  ;  but  where  they  blossom  and  shine  in  the 
primeval  excellence  allotted  them  by  their  gracious 
Creator.  By  these  means  I  learn  to  walk  by  faith,  and 
not  by  sight ;  but,  like  a  child,  instead  of  walking  straight 
and  firm  in  this  good,  spiritual  way,  I  am  still  apt  to 
cling  here  or  there  ;  which  makes  me  cry,  '  Lord,  let  me 


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LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


see  all  things  more  clearly,  that  I  may  never  mistake  a 
shadow  for  the  substance,  nor  put  any  creature,  no,  not 
for  a  moment,  in  the  place  of  the  Creator  ;  who  deserves 
to  be  loved,  admired,  and  sought  after,  with  all  the  pow- 
ers of  our  souls.' 

"Tracing  his  image  in  all  the  footsteps  of  nature,  or 
looking  for  the  Divine  signature  on  every  creature,  as 
we  would  look,  for  the  king's  image  on  an  old,  rusty 
medal,  is  true  philosophy  ;  and  to  find  out  that,  which  is 
of  God  in  ourselves,  is  true  wisdom,  genuine  godliness. 
I  hope  you  will  never  be  afraid,  nor  ashamed  of  it.  I 
see  no  danger  in  these  studies  and  meditations,  provided 
we  still  keep  the  end  in  view, — the  all  of  God,  and  the 
shadowy  nothingness  of  all  that  is  visible. 

"  With  respect  to  the  great  pentecostal  display  of  the 
Spirit's  fflory,  I  still  look  for  it  within  and  without ;  and 
to  look  for  it  aright  is  the  lesson  I  am  learning. 

"I  am  glad  your  partner  goes  on  simply  and  believ- 
ingly.  Such  a  companion  is  a  great  blessing,  if  you 
know  how  to  make  use  of  it.  For  '  when  two  of  you 
shall  agree  touching  any  one  thing  in  prayer,  it  shall  be 
done.'  My  wife  and  I  endeavour  to  fathom  the  meaning 
of  that  deep  promise  ;  join  your  line  to  ours,  and  let  us 
search  what,  after  all,  exceeds  knowledge, — I  mean  the 
wisdom  and  the  power,  the  love  and  faithfulness  of  God. 
Adieu.  Be  God's,  as  the  French  say;  and  see  God 
yours  in  Christ." 

The  last  letter,  probably,  which  he  wrote,  dated  July 
19,  1785,  about  three  weeks  before  his  death,  and  a 
fortnight  before  he  was  taken  ill,  is  addressed  to  his 
faithful  friend,  Mr.  Ireland,  in  the  following  words: — 

"My  Dear  Friend, — Blessed  be  Cod,  we  are  still 
alive,  and,  in  the  midst  of  many  infirmities,  we  enjoy  a 
degree  of  health,  spiritual  and  bodily.  O  how  good 
was  the  Lord  to  come  as  Son  of  man  to  live  here  for  us, 
and  to  come  in  his  Spirit  to  live  in  us  for  ever  !  This 
is  a  mystery  of  godliness :  the  Lord  make  us  full  wit- 
nesses of  it ! 

"A  week  ago  I  was  tried  to  the  quick  by  a  fever  with 
which  my  dear  wife  was  afflicted:  two  persons  whom 
she  had  visited,  having  been  carried  off,  within  a  pistol 
shot  of  our  house,  I  dreaded  her  being  the  third.  But 
the  Lord  hath  heard  prayer,  and  she  is  spared.    O  what 


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207 


is  life!  On  what  a  slender  thread  hang  everlasting 
tilings !  My  comfort,  however,  is  that  this  thread  is  as 
strong  as  the  will  of  God,  and  the  word  of  his  grace, 
which  cannot  be  broken.  That  grace  and  peace,  love, 
and  thankful  joy,  may  ever  attend  you,  is  the  wish  of 
your  most  obliged  friends,  J.  and  M.  F." 


CHAPTER  X. 
His  character,  taken  chiefly  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gilpin's  account 

1.  Although  it  be  the  method  of  almost  all  writers, 
(Mr.  Wesley's  Life  of  Fletcher,)  to  place  the  character 
of  the  person  whose  life  they  write  at  the  conclusion  of 
their  work,  there  seems  to  be  a  particular  reason  for 
pursuing  a  different  plan  with  respect  to  Mr.  Fletcher. 
God  gave  such  an  uncommon  display  of  his  power  and 
goodness,  in  behalf  of  his  highly  favoured  servant,  at 
his  death,  that  it  seems  quite  proper  the  account  of  that 
last  scene  should  close  the  history  of  him,  and  that  no- 
thing should  follow  it.  I  shall,  therefore,  here  insert  the 
best  account  I  can  collect  of  the  character  of  this  great 
and  good  man.  But  as  we  have  scarce  any  light  from 
himself,  there  is  a  peculiar  difficulty  in  the  way.  "He 
was  on  all  occasions,"  as  Mr.  Wesley  has  justly  observed, 
"very  uncommonly  reserved  in  speaking  of  himself, 
whether  in  writing  or  conversation.  He  hardly  ever 
said  any  tiling  concerning  himself,  unless  it  slipped  from 
him  unawares.  And,  among  the  great  number  of  papers 
which  he  has  left,  there  is  scarce  a  page  (except  that 
single  account  of  his  conversion  to  God)  relative  either 
to  his  own  inward  experience,  or  the  transactions  of  his 
life.  So  that  the  most  of  the  information  we  have  is 
gathered  up,  either  from  short  hints  scattered  up  and 
down  in  his  letters,  from  what  he  had  occasionally  drop- 
ped amonfi  his  friends,  or  from  what  one  and  another 
remembered  concerning  him." 

2.  From  the  imperfect  account,  however,  which  has 
already  been  given  of  him,  any  discerning  person  may, 
with  very  little  difficultv,  extract  his  character.  In 

13* 


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LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


general  it  is  easy  to  perceive  that  a  more  excellent  man 
has  not  appeared  in  the  Church  for  some  ages.  It  is 
true,  in  several  ages,  and  in  several  countries,  many  men 
have  excelled  in  particular  virtues  and  graces.  But  who 
can  point  out,  in  any  age  or  nation,  one  that  so  highly 
excelled  in  all?  One  that  was  enabled,  in  so  large  a 
measure,  to  put  on  the  whole  armour  of  God?  Yea,  so 
to  put  on  Christ  as  to  perfect  holiness  in  the  fear  of 
God? 

3.  It  is  evident,  as  Mr.  Gilpin  relates,  {Portrait,  page 
42.,)  that  his  life  might,  with  the  greatest  propriety,  be 
termed  "  a  life  of  faith."  Through  the  whole  of  his 
Christian  pilgrimage,  he  walked  by  faith,  not  by  sight. 
By  faith  he  embraced  the  truths  of  the  Gospel,  when  they 
were  first  proposed  to  him  in  plainness  and  simplicity  ; 
not  barely  admitting,  but  relying  upon  them  with  an 
entire  confidence.  By  faith  he  relinquished  the  world, 
while  it  presented  him  with  many  flattering  prospects, 
choos-ing  rather  to  suffer  affliction  with  the  people  of 
God,  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season. 
By  faith  he  endured  the  displeasure  of  his  friends,  and 
patiently  suffered  their  contradiction,  esteeming  the  re- 
proach of  Christ  greater  riches  than  the  treasures  of 
the  world,  and  having  respect  unto  the  recompense  of 
reward.  By  faith  he  engaged  himself  in  the  Christian 
warfare,  unmoved  either  by  its  difficulties  or  its  dangers  ; 
and  by  faith  he  endured  to  the  end,  as  seeing  Him  who 
is  invisible.  Though  his  faith  was  always  increasing, 
yet,  during  his  Christian  profession,  there  never  was  a 
time  in  which  he  was  regarded  as  a  man  weak,  or  waver- 
ing in  the  faith  of  the  Gospel.  On  the  contrary,  he 
seems  to  have  borne  a  strong  resemblance,  to  those  two 
extraordinary  characters  whose  faith,  upon  their  very 
first  application  to  Christ,  not  only  procured  his  appro- 
bation, but  appeared  to  excite  his  astonishment. 

4.  His  faith  was  frequently  put  to  the  severest  tests  ; 
but,  after  being  tried  to  the  uttermost,  it  remained  un- 
shaken. He  regarded  the  promises  of  God  as  the  firm 
supports  of  this  grace,  nor  was  he  ever  seen  to  stagger 
at  any  of  those  promises  through  unbelief.  If  the  pro- 
mise was  great  and  important ;  if  its  full  accomplish- 
ment was  even  doubted  by  his  most  esteemed  fellow 
labourers  ;  yet  this  holy  man  continued  strong  in  faith, 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


299 


giving  glory  to  God;  being  fully  persuaded  that  what 
he  had  promised  he  was  able  also  to  perform.  By  this 
mighty  grace  he  engaged  in  the  most  difficult  duties,  and 
saw  many  mountainous  obstacles  removed  from  his  path. 
By  this  he  was  enabled  to  bear  the  heat  and  burden  of 
the  day;  and  by  this,  notwithstanding  all  the  discou- 
ragements that  could  be  thrown  in  his  way,  he  went  on 
from  conquering  to  conquer. 

5.  "  The  nature  of  his  faith  was  evidenced  by  the 
works  it  produced.  He  stood  not  as  a  cumberer  of  the 
ground  in  his  Master's  vineyard  ;  but,  like  a  tree  planted 
by  the  waterside,  he  brought  forth  his  fruit  in  due  sea- 
son. He  stood  as  an  humble  representation  of  that  tree 
of  life  which  grows  by  the  river  of  paradise ;  for  in  his 
fruit  there  was  a  wonderful  variety,  and  every  successive 
season  was  with  him  a  season  of  spiritual  plenty.  He 
not  only  bore  that  delicate  kind  of  fruit  which  requires 
the  sunshine  of  prosperity;  but  produced,  with  equal 
luxuriance,  those  hardier  graces  which  can  only  be  ma- 
tured by  the  rigours  of  adversity. 

6.  "It  is  the  privilege  of  every  Christian  to  be  united 
to  Christ:  that  as  he  and  the  Father  are  one,  so  his  dis- 
ciples may  be  one  with  their  adorable  Master.  This 
privilege,  in  its  lowest  sense,  is  inconceivably  estimable 
in  the  Church  of  Christ ;  but  by  this  eminent  servant  of 
God  it  was  enjoyed  in  a  more  than  ordinary  degree. 
His  union  with  the  blessed  Jesus,  answerable  to  the 
greatness  of  his  faith,  was  intimate  and  constant.  He 
experienced  the  fulfilment  of  that  condescending  pro- 
mise, If  any  man  hear  my  voice,  and  open  the  door,  I 
will  come  in  to  him,  and  sup  with  him,  and  he  with  me  : 
he  obeyed  the  summons  and  received  the  promised  visit- 
ant;  and  from  that  time  his  heart  became  the  dwelling 
place  of  Christ.  There  he  experienced  the  teachings  of 
uncreated  wisdom,  and  held  ineffable  communion  with 
the  Author  and  Finisher  of  faith,  imbibing  abundantly 
the  spirit  of  his  Divine  Instructer,  and  sitting  vndcr  his 
shadow  with  great  delight.  By  this  sacred  intercourse, 
continued  from  day  to  day,  his  union  with  Christ  be- 
came so  entire,  that  he  was  at  length  enabled  to  adopt 
the  expressive  declaration  of  the  great  apostle, — I  live, 
yet  not  T,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me. 

7.  "The  strictness  of  this  union  was  evinced  by  his 


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LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


whole  disposition  and  carriage.  The  mind  that  was  in 
Christ  was  discovered  also  in  him.  He  denied  himself, 
he  look  up  his  cross,  and  trod  in  the  footsteps  of  his 
Master.  He  cheerfully  submitted  to  the  yoke  of  Jesus, 
and  was  effectually  taught  by  his  example  to  be  meek 
and  lowly  in  heart.  He  breathed  the  language  of  uni- 
versal benevolence,  and  copied  the  character  of  his  Lord 
with  so  great  exactness  that  all  men  took  knowledge  of 
him  that  he  had  been  with  Jesus.  Fellowship  with 
Christ  is,  with  the  generality  of  Christians,  a  state  of 
much  uncertainty,  and  subject  to  many  changes  ;  but, 
by  this  holy  man,  it  was  well  nigh  uninterruptedly 
enjoyed,  through  all  the  different  stages  of  the  spiritual 
life.  It  was  his  consolation  in  the  season  of  adversity, 
and  his  glory  in  the  day  of  rejoicing;  it  sustained  him 
in  the  hour  of  temptation,  and  afforded  him  peace  in  the 
inidst  of  trouble.  At  home  or  abroad,  he  still  was  sit- 
ting with  Christ  Jesus  in  heavenly  places.  In  sickness 
or  health,  he  daily  conferred  with  this  Physician  of 
inestimable  value.  In  honour  or  dishonour,  he  still  was 
dignified  with  the  favour  of  this  everlasting  King.  In 
short,  the  whole  circle  of  his  Christian  friends  are  ready- 
to  testify  that  neither  tribulation,  nor  distress,  nor  per- 
secution, nor  life,  nor  death  were  able  to  separate  this 
faithful  pastor  from  the  love  of  Christ;  for  whom  he 
suffered  the  loss  of  all  things,  and  by  whose  gracious 
presence  that  loss  was  abundantly  overpaid." 

8.  Next  to  his  faith,  and  the  union  and  communion 
which  he.  had  with  Christ  thereby,  we  may  notice  his 
patience  and  fortitude  under  the  various  trials  whereby 
his  faith  and  other  graces  were  exercised.  "  Thou,  O 
God,  hast  tried  us  like  as  silver  is  tried,  has  been  the 
language,"  observes  Mr.  Gilpin,  "of  the  faithful  in 
every  period  of  the  Church  :  for  whom  the  Lord  loveth 
he  chasteneth,  and  scourgcth  every  son  whom  he  receiv- 
eth.  Of  that  chastisement,  whereof  all  the  children  of 
the  kingdom  are  partakers,  Mr.  Fietcher  was  not  with- 
out a  painful  share.  He  had  fellowship  with  Christ  in 
his  sufferings,  and  could  bear  ample  testimony  to  the 
fatherly  corrections  of  that  righteous  God  whose  fire  is 
in  Sion,  and  his  furnace  in  Jerusalem.  His  trials  were 
of  various  kinds,  frequently  repeated  ;  many  times  of 
long  continuance;  and  on  some  occasions  peculiarly 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FI.liTCHER. 


301 


severe.  But  from  whatever  quarter  las  trials  arose, 
whether  he  suffered  through  bodily  infirmity  and  pain, 
from  the  infidelity  of  false  brethren,  or  from  the  despite- 
fulness  of  open  enemies,  he  suffered  as  a  man  unreservedly 
devoted  to  the  will  of  God,  regarding  neither  ease  nor 
health,  the  consolations  of  social  intercourse,  nor  the 
estimation  of  the  wo*ld,  but  so  far  as  they  tended  to 
promote  either  the  welfare  of  his  brethren,  or  the  glory 
of  their  common  Lord. 

9.  "Three  things  were  especially  observable  in  his 
conduct,  with  respect  to  trials  in  general. 

"  First.  He  was  careful  never  to  plunge  himself  into 
difficulties  through  inadvertence  and  precipitation.  Con- 
scious that  his  path  was  encompassed  with  innumera- 
ble dangers  and  snares,  he  proceeded  in  his  course 
w  ith  the  utmost  wariness  and  circumspection,  deliberat- 
ing on  the  tendency  of  every  expression,  and  weighing 
the  probable  consequences  of  every  step.  Without 
swerving  to  the  one  hand  by  intemperate  zeal,  or  to  the 
other  by  worldly  compliance,  he  steadily  persevered  in 
the  path  of  duty,  endeavouring  to  have  always  a  con- 
science void  of  offence  toward  God  and  toward  men. 

"  Secondly.  Wherever  he  saw  a  trial  awaiting  him,  in 
the  order  of  Providence,  how  terrific  an  aspect  soever  it 
might  wear,  he  went  on  to  meet  it  without  the  least  indi- 
cation of  despondency  or  fear.  He  esteemed  no  diffi- 
culty too  great  to  be  surmounted,  no  cross  too  heavy  to 
be  endured,  nor  any  enemy  too  strong  to  be  opposed, 
in  the  way  of  God's  appointment.  Here  he  considered 
himself  as  under  the  immediate  protection  of  the 
Almighty,  and  knowing  in  whom  he  believed,  he  com- 
mitted the  keeping-  of  Iiis  soul  to  him  in  well  doing,  as 
unto  a  faithful  Creator. 

"Thirdly.  He  entered  into  the  conflict  under  a  lively 
impression  of  the  truth  of  that  apostolic  declaration  : 
Blessed  is  the  man  that  endureth  temptation  ;  for  when 
he  is  tried,  he  shall  receive  the  crown  of  life.  This 
sentiment  sustained  him  in  the  day  of  trouble,  and  pro- 
duced in  him  a  degree  of  fortitude  proportioned  to  the 
severity  of  the  trial.  He  could  smile  under  the  languors 
of  disease  and  the  violence  of  pain  ;  he  could  hear,  with- 
out emotion,  the  reproaches  of  malice,  and  receive,  with- 
out resentment,  the  shafts  of  ingratitude ;  counting  it 


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LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


all  joy  when  he  fell  into  divers  temptations,  and  glori- 
fying the  Lord  in  the  fiercest  fires  of  affliction. 

10.  "  But  while  he  discovered  an  astonishing  degree 
of  firmness  under  the  sharpest  trials,  he  was  a  perfect 
stranger  to  that  stoical  sullenncss  which  steels  the  heart 
against  the  attacks  of  adversity.  His  fortitude  was  sus- 
tained, not  by  insensibility,  but  by  patience  and  resigna- 
tion. Through  the  most  afflicting  providential  dispensa- 
tions his  attention  was  fixed  upon  that  wondrous  example 
of  patient  suffering  which  was  exhibited  in  the  High 
Priest  of  his  profession  :  and  if  ever  his  sensibility  con- 
strained him  to  cry  out,  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this 
cup  pass  from  me;  his  resignation  as  constantly  dis- 
posed him  to  add,  nevertheless,  not  my  will,  but  thine 
be  done.  Such  was  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Fletcher  with 
respect  to  trials  of  every  kind.  He  never  created  them 
through  imprudence  ;  he  never  avoided  them  through 
timidity  ;  he  never  endured  them,  but  with  an  uncom- 
mon share  of  fortitude  and  patience :  and  it  may  be 
added  that  he  never  experienced  the  removal  of  a  trial 
without  thankfully  ascribing  his  support  under  it,  and 
his  deliverance  from  it,  to  the  gracious  interference  of 
that  invisible  arm  which  is  mighty  to  save. 

11.  "  With  such  dispositions,  it  is  not  difficult  to  con- 
ceive that,  like  Hananiah,  Mishael,  and  Azariah,  he  held 
communion  with  the  Son  of  God  in  the  hottest  furnace 
of  affliction  ;  so  that,  like  Job,  he  came  forth  from  the 
most  grievous  trials  as  gold  purified  in  the  fire.  The 
friends  he  has  left  behind  him  can  joyfully  testify  that 
he  had  learned  the  happy  art  of  glorying  even  in  tri- 
bulations, from  a  consciousness  that  tribulation  worketh 
patience  ;  and  patience,  experience  ;  and  experience, 
hope.  Nay,  they  are  farther  prepared  to  testify  that  his 
hope  was  matured  into  the  fullest  assurance,  when  they 
recollect  how  he  would  frequently  come  forth  from  a 
state  of  keen  distress,  repeating  the  confidential  excla- 
mation of  the  great  apostle:  Who  shall  separate  vs 
from,  the  love  of  Christ?  Shall  tribulation,  or  distress, 
or  persecution,  or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or  peril,  or 
sword?  Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are  more  than  con- 
querors,  through  him  that  hath  loved  us." 

12.  His  devotion  to  the  Lord  Jesus  was  equal  to  his 
faith  in  him  and  his  other  graces.    "  Though  this  be 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


303 


strictly  enjoined  by  the  Church,"  as  is  justly  observed  by 
the  author  last  quoted,  (Portrait,  page  65,)  "  it  is  rarely 
discernible  in  the  conduct  of  her  members.  As  the  ma- 
jority of  Christians  are  satisfied  with  a  superficial  know- 
ledge of  the  Redeemer,  so  their  devotion  to  him  is  purely 
of  a  professional  nature.  Their  attachment  to  Christ 
may  dispose  them  to  some  few  external  marks  of  respect 
toward  him,  but  is  insufficient  to  produce  in  them  any 
single  act  of  genuine  obedience  or  self-denial.  They 
reverence  his  name  while  they  reject  his  authority  ;  and 
acknowledge  him  as  a  Saviour  while  they  refuse  to  fol- 
low him  as  a  guide.  In  all  these  respects  it  was  totally 
otherwise  with  the  man  whose  character  is  here  faintly 
delineated.  His  devotion  to  Christ  was  sincere  and  un- 
reserved, first  as  a  private  Christian,  and  afterward  as  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel.  As  a  private  Christian,  he  was 
a  strict  and  constant  follower  of  the  blessed  Jesus,  re- 
nouncing, for  his  sake,  all  the  transient  gratifications  of 
time  and  sense.  Whatever  he  had  formerly  admired 
and  pursued,  he  voluntarily  laid  at  the  feet  of  his  Lord. 
Those  requisitions  of  Christ  which  are  generally  looked 
upon  as  strict  in  the  extreme,  he  submitted  to  without  a 
marmot;  cutting  off  the  right  hand,  plucking  out  the 
right  eye,  and  casting  away  whatever  might  prove  offen- 
sive to  his  spotless  Master,  with  all  the  determination 
of  a  deep-rooted  attachment.  He  cast  aside  every  weight, 
he  resisted  every  sin,  and  neglected  nothing  that  might 
prove  either  the  sincerity  of  his  zeal,  or  the  fervour  of 
his  love.  He  dedicated  his  time,  his  studies,  his  acqui- 
sitions, and  his  substance  to  the  service  of  his  Lord  ; 
and  desired  to  present  him,  at  once,  with  his  whole 
being,  as  a  living  sacrifice,  expressive  of  his  entire 
devotion. 

13.  "  As  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  his  devotion  to 
Christ  was  expressed,  if  possible,  in  a  still  more  absolute 
manner.  He  entered  more  universally  into  his  service, 
and  manifested  a  greater  degree  of  zeal  for  the  honour 
of  his  name.  He  imitated  his  perfections  in  a  more  un- 
limited sense,  and  interested  himself  more  deeply  in  the 
extension  of  his  kingdom  upon  earth.  His  renunciation 
"of  the  world  became  more  complete,  and  his  self-denial 
more  strict.  He  acted  with  greater  resolution,  and  suf- 
fered with  greater  firmness  in  the  cause  of  Christianity. 


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LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


His  devotion  to  Christ  was  now  carried  to  a  higher  pitch 
than  most  Christians  are  willing  to  believe  attainable  in 
the  present  life.  He  had  no  interest  to  serve,  no  incli- 
nation to  gratify,  nor  any  connection  to  maintain,  but 
such  as  was  entirely  conformable  to  the  nature  of  his 
union  with  the  holy  Jesus.  Wherever  he  came,  he 
breathed  the  spirit  of  devotion,  and  wherever  he  was 
familiarly  known,  the  purity,  the  fervour,  the  resolution, 
and  the  constancy  of  that  devotion  were  universally 
apparent.  He  daily  felt  and  acted  in  conformity  to  the 
powerful  obligations  by  which  he  was  bound  to  the  Cap- 
tain of  his  salvation.  His  vows  of  inviolable  affection 
and  fidelity  were  solemnly  renewed,  as  occasion  offered, 
both  in  public  and  in  private  :  and  it  was  wonderful  to 
observe,  through  all  the  vicissitudes  of  his  Christian 
warfare,  how  perfect  a  harmony  was  maintained  be- 
tween his  inclinations  and  his  engagements,  his  habits 
and  his  profession.  Jt  would  be  very  easy  to  expatiate 
largely  under  this  head,  though  very  difficult  to  give  a 
description,  in  any  tolerable  degree,  adequate  to  the 
subject.  Instead  of  presenting  the  reader  with  several 
pages  upon  the  point  now  before  us,  it  shall  suffice  to 
say  that  this  venerable  man's  entire  devotion  to  Jesus 
Christ,  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  was  variously  ex- 
pressed, "in  much  patience,  in affiictions,  in  necessities, 
in  distresses,  in  labours,  in  watchings,  in  fastings,  by 
pureness,  by  knowledge,  by  long  suffering,  by  kindness, 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  love  unfeigned,  by  the  word  of 
truth,  by  the  power  of  God,  by  the  armour  of  righteous- 
ness on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left,  by  honour  and 
dishonour,  by  evil  report  and  good  report." 

14.  Another  particular  in  his  character,  touched  upon 
by  Mr.  Gilpin,  (Portrait,  page  252,)  is  his  perfect  disin- 
terestedness. "Upon  his  discovering,"  says  he,  "the 
goodly  pearl  of  evangelical  truth,  Mr.  Fletcher,  like  the 
merchant  in  the  Gospel,  immediately  bartered  his  all  for 
the  possession  of  so  invaluable  a  gein.  Till  then  he  had 
been  engaged  in  pursuits  of  a  worldly  nature  :  but,  from 
that  time,  he  sought  after  no  other  treasure  than  the 
unsearchable  riches  of  grace,  nor  desired  any  inheritance 
except  that  which  is  reserved  for  the  saints  in  everlast- 
ing light.  Through  every  period  of  his  religious  life 
he  appeared  as  a  pilgrim  and  stranger  in  the  world,  un- 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


305 


allured  by  its  smiles,  unmoved  by  its  frowns,  and  unin- 
terested in  its  changes.  His  affections  were  wholly 
fixed  upon  things  above;  and  while  thousands  and  ten 
thousands  were  contending  around  him  for  the  advan- 
tages and  honours  of  the  present  life,  he  desired  to  pass 
unnoticed  through  its  idle  hurry,  without  being  entangled 
in  its  concerns,  or  encumbered  with  its  gifts.  It  was 
with  him,  as  with  a  person  engaged  in  a  race,  which 
must  be  attended  with  immense  gain  or  irreparable  loss, 
—  he  kept  his  eye  immovably  fixed  upon  the  goal ;  and 
whatever  gilded  trifles  were  thrown  in  his  way,  he  reso- 
lutely trampled  on  them  all,  fminterruptcdly  pressing 
toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  his  high  calling  in 
Christ  Jesus.  His  mind  was  never  distracted  with  a 
multiplicity  of  objects,  nor  did  he  ever  mingle  temporal 
expectations  with  eternal  hopes.  Considering  one  thing 
only  as  absolutely  necessary  to  his  happiness,  while  he 
pursued  the  substance,  he  rejected  the  shadow ;  and 
while  he  contended  for  an  incorruptible  crown,  he  had 
no  ambition  to  appear  in  the  fading  garlands  of  earthly 
glory.  Possessed  of  that  faith  which  overcometh  the 
'world,  he  beheld  it  with  the  feelings  of  his  tempted  Mas- 
ter :  anxious  for  its  good,  but  despising  its  yoke  ;  pre- 
pared to  labour  in  its  service,  but  resolute  to  reject  its 
rewards  ;  deaf  to  its  promises,  blind  to  its  prospects, 
and  dead  to  its  enjoyments. 

15.  "  He  received,  indeed,  a  part  of  his  maintenance 
from  the  altar  at  which  he  served  :  but  so  scanty  was  the 
income  produced  by  his  parish,  that  it  scarcely  sufficed, 
in  some  years,  for  the  liberality  of  his  contributions 
toward  the  relief  of  the  poor.  Yet  so  perfectly  satisfied 
was  he  with  his  inconsiderable  appointments  at  Madeley, 
that  he  desired  nothing  more  than  to  conclude  both  his 
labours  and  his  life  in  that  favourite  village.  Had  he 
been  disposed  to  improve  every  favourable  opportunity 
of  advancing  his  temporal  interests,  he  might  have  suc- 
ceeded beyond  many  who  were  anxiously  plotting  and 
contriving  the  means  of  their  future  promotion  in  the 
world.  But  as  a  proof  of  his  superiority  to  every  allure- 
ment of  this  nature,  he  peremptorily  refused,  once  and 
aeain,  the  offer  of  additional  preferment.  And,  as  a 
farther  testimony  of  his  perfect  disinterestedness,  after 
having  so  far  destroyed  his  health  by  the  excess  of  his 


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LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


labours,  that  he  was  obliged  to  retire  for  a  season  from 
his  charge,  he  solemnly  determined,  in  case  of  continued 
weakness,  to  give  up  together  the  profits  and  duties  of 
his  ministerial  station." 

The  reader  will  recollect  the  anecdote  respecting  his 
disinterestedness  when  in  Dublin.  But  the  disposition 
here  described  was  not  confined  to  pecuniary  matters. 
It  was  exemplified  through  his  whole  conduct,  which 
manifested,  upon  all  occasions,  that  he  acted  under  the 
entire  influence  of  that  disinterested  charity  which 
seckcth  not  her  own. 

16.  And  as  he  regarded  not  his  own  temporal  interest, 
so  neither  did  he  seek  his  own  honour.  "  Among  all 
the  candidates  for  human  praise,''  proceeds  Mr.  Gilpin, 
{Portrait,  page  153,)  "  there  is  none  more  conspicuous 
than  the  man  who  exhibits  his  pretensions  to  applause 
from  the  pulpit.  Dishonourable  as  it  is  to  the  cause  of 
Christianity,  the  place  from  which  humility  and  self- 
denial  were  formerly  recommended  to  the  world,  is  fre- 
quently employed,  by  modern  divines,  as  a  stage  for  the 
ostentatious  display  of  their  superior  parts  and  accom- 
plishments. Preferring  the  praise  of  men  before  the 
honour  that  cometh  from  God,  multitudes  of  pastors  are 
more  solicitous  to  be  ranked  with  profound  theologists, 
elegant  scholars,  and  masters  of  elocution,  than  to  be 
numbered  among  the  zealous  and  unaffected  preachers 
of  the  everlasting  Gospel.  They  court  the  applause  of 
the  world  by  seeking  after  such  qualifications  as  will 
naturally  recommend  them  to  its  favour  ;  while  they 
secure  themselves  from  its  reproaches  by.  carefully 
avoiding  whatever  might  tend  to  degrade  them  in  its 
estimation.  In  short,  they  are  abundantly  more  soli- 
citous for  the  advancement  of  their  own  reputation  than 
for  the  honour  of  their  Master,  or  the  increase  of  his 
kingdom. 

17.  "Between  pastors  of  this  description  and  Mr. 
Fletcher,  the  most  distant  resemblance  was  not  to  be 
discovered.  The  favour  of  God  was  his  ultimate  aim 
through  life  ;  and,  for  the  possession  of  so  invaluable  a 
privilege,  he  was  content  to  forego  the  riches,  the  friend- 
ship, and  even  the  good  opinion  of  the  world.  Despising 
the  common  pursuits  of  men,  he  aspired  after  that  true 
greatness  which  never  yet  excited  the  envy  of  the  mighty, 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


307 


or  the  emulation  of  the  ambitious.  Whatsoever  things 
arc  pure,  whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  whatsoever 
things  are  of  good  report,  in  such  things  he  was  daily 
and  diligently  occupied  ;  not  that  the  report  of  his  vir- 
tues might  raise  his  reputation  among  men,  but  rather 
that  he  might  become  an  example  to  the  believers,  in 
word,  in  conversation,  in  charity,  in  faith,  in  spirit,  in 
purity.  Though  few  men  have  ever  had  so  just  a  claim 
as  himself  to  universal  approbation,  yet  no  man  ever 
appeared  so  perfectly  deaf  to  the  siren  voice  of  admira- 
tion and  praise.  He  permitted  nothing  to  be  related  in 
his  presence  that  apparently  tended  to  his  advantage. 
He  could  hear  his  actions  censured,  his  opinions  con- 
demned, and  his  character  traduced,  with  an  astonish- 
ing degree  of  silent  composure.  But  if  at  any  time  his 
virtues  or  abilities  were  mentioned  with  the  least  ap- 
pearance of  respect,  he  would  instantly  put  a  stop  to 
the  conversation  with  an  air  of  severity  which  he  sel- 
dom assumed  upon  any  other  occasion.  On  matters  of 
this  nature  he  resolutely  refused  to  hear  the  voice  of  the 
charmer,  with  whatever  discretion  and  delicacy  the  sub- 
ject might  be  attempted.  He  counted  himself  no  bet- 
ter than  an  unprofitable  servant:  and,  as  such,  it  was 
an  invariable  rule  with  him,  in  every  company,  to  take 
the  lowest  seat ;  which  he  occupied,  not  as  a  man  who 
was  conscious  that  his  merits  entitled  him  to  a  more 
honourable  place,  but  rather  as  one  who  considered 
himself  unworthy  of  the  favour  of  God,  or  the  notice 
of  man. 

18.  "  As  an  ambassador  of  Jesus  Christ,  he  sought 
not  his  own  honour,  but  the  honour  of  him  that  sent 
him.  Neither  exalted  by  the  grace  he  had  received,  nor 
elated  with  his  success  in  the  ministry,  he  still  opened 
his  commission  in  every  place,  in  the  lowly  manner  of 
the  threat  apostle:  Unto  me  who  am  less  than  the  least 
of  all  saints  is  this  grace  given,  that  I  should  preach 
the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.  He  counted  nothing 
either  upon  his  attainments  or  his  talents.  Instead  of 
endeavouring  to  make  a  pompous  display  of  his  excel- 
lences, he  studiously  concealed  them  from  the  notice  of 
the  world:  and  whether  he  was  engaged  in  planting 
with  Paul,  or  in  watering  with  Apollos,  he  sought  to 
turn  every  eye  from  the  person  of  the  labourer  to  the 


308 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


presence  of  that  God  who  alone  can  give  the  increase. 
Far  from  courting  the  applause  of  a  world  in  which  his 
Lord  had  been  publicly  despised  and  rejected,  he  was 
sincerely  disposed  to  drink  of  the  cup,  and  to  be  baptized 
with  the  baptism  of  his  Master. 

19.  "  Instead  of  toiling  for  the  triumphs  of  vain  glory, 
he  inured  himself  to  bear  the  reproach  of  the  cross  :  and 
instead  of  soliciting  the  smiles  of  the  world,  he  prepared 
himself  to  endure  the  contradiction  of  sinners.  Fully 
persuaded  that  it  is  enough  for  the  disciple  that  he  be 
as  his  Master,  he  sought  after  an  entire  conformity  to 
the  mind  and  character  of  his  Lord.  Though  formed 
to  preside,  he  voluntarily  took  upon  himself  the  form  of 
a  servant,  and  submitted  to  the  lowest  offices  of  conde- 
scension and  charity.  Though  capable,  as  a  preacher, 
of  fixing  the  attention,  and  raising  the  admiration  of  the 
multitude,  he  absolutely  renounced  all  pretensions  to 
regard,  and  modestly  made  himself  of  no  reputation.  As 
a  proof  that  he  was  not  ambitious,  either  of  the  upper- 
most seats  in  synagogues,  or  of  honourable  saluta- 
tions in  places  of  public  resort,  he  laboured  for  the 
Church  in  a  state  of  comparative  retirement  and  obscu- 
rity :  manifestly  evidencing  to  all  around  him  that  he 
came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister.  In  this 
unenvied  situation  of  his  choice  he  spent  the  laborious 
days  of  a  useful  life,  as  unknown,  yet  well  known  ;  as 
sorrowf  ul,  yet  always  rejoicing ;  as  poor,  yet  making 
many  rich;  as  having  nothing,  and  yet  possessing  all 
things.  Thus,  by  a  patient  continuance  in  well  doing, 
he  sought  for  glory,  honour,  and  immortality,  unno- 
ticed by  the  ambitious  and  the  vain,  but  eminently  con- 
spicuous among  those  whose  praise  is  not  of  men,  but 
of  God." 

20.  Nearly  related  to  his  disregard  of,  and  deadness  to 
the  praise  of  men,  was  his  humility.  "  This,"  continues 
Mr.  Gilpin,  {Portrait,  page  128,)  "  is  at  once  the  ground- 
work and  perfection  of  Christianity.  Where  this  holy 
temper  increases  in  the  soul,  there  every  grace  is  pro- 
portionally carried  toward  a  state  of  maturity;  but 
wherever  this  is  wanting,  there,  sooner  or  later,  every 
appearance  of  grace  must  wither  and  die  :  God  rcsisteth 
the  proud,  but  giveth  grace  unto  the  humble.  Examples 
of  deep  humility  are  uncommon,  even  in  the  Church  of 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


309 


Christ:  but  among  the  rarest  examples  of  this  kind,  Mr. 
Fletcher  must  be  allowed  a  distinguished  place.  From 
his  natural  disposition,  perhaps  no  man  had  ever  greater 
opposition  to  struggle  against  in  his  progress  to  humility  ; 
but  as  few  professors  of  religion  were  ever  known  to 
resist  their  natural  propensities  with  so  determined  a 
resolution,  few  ever  gained  so  complete  a  victory  over 
themselves  as  Mr.  Fletcher.  Lowliness  of  mind  was 
considered,  by  the  generality  of  his  friends,  as  the  most 
distinguished  trait  in  the  character  of  this  great  man  ; 
and  it  may  be  truly  asserted  that  no  person  ever  con- 
versed with  him,  either  at  home  or  abroad,  without  being 
struck  with  the  genuine  meekness  and  simplicity  of  his 
whole  carriage.  This  admirable  disposition,  which  is 
lovely  in  the  lowest  of  its  possessors,  was  peculiarly 
striking  in  lnm,  in  whom  it  shone  forth  amid  an  uncom- 
mon variety  of  accomplishments,  and  attended  with  a 
train  of  excellent  graces. 

21.  "Wherever  he  appeared,  he  was  seen,  according 
to  the  advice  of  St.  Peter,  completely  clothed  in  humi- 
lity:  and  though  there  was  something  singular  in  this 
truly  Christian  garb,  yet  its  unaffected  comeliness  was 
universally  acknowledged  and  admired.  Many  who 
think  it  necessary  to  appear  before  God  in  a  state  of 
humiliation,  come  forth  from  their  closets,  and  walk  into 
the  world,  with  an  air  of  conscious  superiority :  as 
though  it  were  possible,  at  the  same  time,  to  walk  hum- 
bly before  God,  and  haughtily  in  the  presence  of  their 
fellow  creatures.  But  the  man  whose  character  I  at- 
tempt to  describe,  was  perfectly  consistent  with  himself. 
Such  as  he  appeared  before  God  in  his  private  acts  of 
devotion,  such  lie  appeared  before  men  in  every  part  of 
social  and  public  life.  He  aspired  not  after  high  things, 
but  condescended  to  men  of  low  estate.  His  family  and 
connections,  his  attainments  in  science  and  in  grace, 
with  whatever  else  might  be  considered  as  tending  to 
his  advantage,  he  regarded  as  matters  of  trivial  esti- 
mation :  while,  in  the  lowliness  of  his  heart,  he  adopted 
the  language  of  the  great  apostle  :  God  forbid  that  I 
should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  by  whom  the  world  is  crucified  unto  me,  and  I 
unto  the  world.  In  honour  he  preferred  all  men  before 
himself,  and  never  appeared  so  perfectly  satisfied  with 


310 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


his  station  as  when  his  humble  employments  bespoke 
him  the  servant  of  all.  So  unlimited  was  his  conde- 
scension in  this  respect,  that  he  esteemed  no  occupation 
too  low  or  degrading,  by  which  he  might  benefit  his 
neighbour,  or  by  which  he  might  testify  respect  either 
to  God  or  man. 

22.  "I  cannot  forbear  relating  here  a  little  circum- 
stance, which  may  perhaps  appear  trifling  to  some,  but 
which  uncommonly  affected  me  at  the  time  it  happened. 
Mr.  Fletcher  was  called  out  to  attend  the  sick.  In  the 
meantime  a  funeral  was  announced ;  and  I  was  happy 
to  embrace  an  opportunity  of  affording  the  least  assist- 
ance to  this  venerable  man,  in  the  course  of  his  exten- 
sive labours.  While  I  was  engaged  in  reading  the  office 
on  that  occasion,  Mr.  Fletcher,  who  had  heard  at  a  dis- 
tance the  call  of  the  bells,  hastily  entered  *the  church  ; 
and  as  he  passed  up  the  aisle,  observing  that  a  young 
lad  was  officiating  in  the  absence  of  the  clerk,  he  in- 
stantly took  his  place,  and  went  through  the  whole  of 
the  service  with  a  degree  of  humility  and  composure 
that  cannot  be  expressed.  He  afterward  assured  me 
that  while  he  beheld  me  kindly  performing  the  duty  of 
an  absent  minister,  he  could  not  observe  the  place  of  an 
inferior  servant  of  the  church  improperly  filled  up,  with- 
out attempting  to  supply  it  himself  with  a  greater  degree 
of  decorum  and  reverence. 

23.  "  I  shall  here  insert  another  anecdote  to  the  same 
purpose.  While  Mr.  Fletcher  continued  tutor  to  the 
young  men  at  Tern  hall,  he  usually  attended  the  minis- 
try of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cartwright,  pastor  of  a  neighbour- 
ing church,  a  man  of  whose  piety  and  zeal  he  made  fre- 
quent and  honourable  mention.  It  was  the  custom  of 
this  gentleman  frequently  to  catechize  in  public  the 
children  of  his  parish.  And  on  one  of  these  occasions 
he  requested  that  no  person  of  maturer  age,  who  stood 
in  need  of  instruction,  would  esteem  it  a  disgrace  to  ap- 
pear in  the  number  of  the  catechumens.  When  no  one 
had  condescension  enough  to  occupy  so  mean  a  station, 
Mr.  Fletcher  left  his  seat,  and  with  an  air  of  unaffected 
modesty  took  his  place  among  the  children  ;  giving  a 
public  proof,  by  the  depth  of  his  humility,  that  he  was 
in  an  advanced  state  of  preparation  for  the  highest  de- 
grees of  exaltation." 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


311 


24.  It  was  owing  to  his  humility  that  he  was  ever 
ready  to  acknowledge  and  repair  his  errors,  if  at  any 
time  he  was  betrayed  into  any  thing  that  could  bear  that 
Dane,  which  certainly  was  very  seldom.  "It  is  true," 
as  Mr.  Gilpin  lias  remarked,  (Portrait,  page  163,)  "had 
he  ever  sat  down  to  a  sketch  of  his  own  life,  an  under- 
taking to  which  Jie  was  repeatedly  urged  by  a  multitude 
of  his  friends,  it  is  most  probable  the  world  would  then 
have  been  presented  with  a  large  detail  of  those  defects 
which  were  scarcely  apparent  to  any  eye  but  his  own. 
It  is  not  meant  to  be  insinuated  here  that  Mr.  Fletcher 
was  entirely  free  from  those  infirmities  by  which,  in 
different  degrees,  the  most  exalted  characters  have  been 
tinctured.  But  it  may  be  safely  affirmed  that  those  few 
imperfections  were  so  outnumbered  and  obscured  by  his 
uncommon  excellences,  that  they  could  not  long  detain 
the  eye  even  of  malice  itself.  The  only  defect  in  his 
character  which  ever  fixed  the  attention,  even  of  those 
who  may  be  suspected  to  have  passed  by  his  merits 
without  the  regard  they  deserved,  was  a  certain  warmth 
in  his  temper  which  has  appeared  upon  a  variety  of 
occasions.  But  with  respect  to  this  acknowledged  warmth, 
it  irmst  be  allowed  by  all,  that  it  was  at  no  time  disco- 
verable in  him,  except  when  he  was  called  forth  to  act, 
either  as  a  lover  of  truth  or  a  reprover  of  sin.  In  these 
two  characters,  indeed,  he  constantly  appeared  with  a 
degree  of  zeal  which  gave  offence  to  many  ;  but  which 
was  entirely  consistent  with  his  high  reputation  for 
meekness  and  charity.  He  was  not  ashamed,  however, 
openly  to  confess  and  bewail  this  apparent  defect;  and 
if  ever  it  betrayed  him  into  a  mistake,  he  discovered  the 
utmost  solicitude  till  he  could  make  some  suitable  re- 
paration. I  shall  content  myself  with  presenting  the 
reader  with  two  instances  of  his  conduct  in  this  parti- 
cular. 

25.  "  In  one  period  of  his  life  he  considered  himself 
obliged  to  wield  the  controversial  pen.  As  the  dispute 
was  of  importance,  so  it  was  of  long  continuance,  and 
maintained  on  all  sides  with  a  considerable  degree  of 
warmth.  In  the  course  of  the  controversy  it  was  object- 
ed against  our  author  that  he  managed  the  debate  with 
an  acrimonious  severity,  which  was  equally  ill  adapted 
both  to  the  nature  of  his  cause,  and  the  characters  of 


312 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


his  opponents.  Though  this  charge  might  have  Keen 
retorted  upon  some  of  his  antagonists  with  tenfold  force, 
yet  he  frankly  admitted  it  on  their  part,  and  stood  self- 
abaced  amid  the  loudest  plaudits  of  his  friends.  Before 
the  dispute  was  completely  terminated,  his  declining 
state  of  health  obliged  him  to  quit  the  kingdom  with 
very  little  hope  of  ever  visiting  it  again.  But  he  found 
it  impossible  to  do  this,  without  giving  an  intimation  to 
his  opponents  that  he  desired  nothing  so  much  as  an 
opportunity  of  embracing  them  before  his  departure, 
that,  all  doctrinal  difference  apart,  he  might  testify  his 
sincere  regret  on  account  of  having  given  them  the  least 
displeasure,  and  receive  from  them  some  condescending 
assurance  of  reconciliation  and  good  will.  Those  of 
his  antagonists  who  had  generosity  sufficient  to  accept 
his  invitation  were  equally  affected  and  refreshed  by  the 
solemn  interview  that  succeeded.  And  some  of  them, 
who  before  that  time  had  no  personal  acquaintance  with 
him,  expressed  the  highest  satisfaction  at  being  intro- 
duced to  the  company  of  one  whose  air  and  countenance 
bespoke  him  fitted  rather  for  the  society  of  angels  than 
the  conversation  of  men. 

26.  "A  second  instance  of  the  manner  in  which  he 
acknowledged  and  repaired  his  mistakes,  is  as  follows  : — 
While  he  was  one  day  interring  a  corpse,  he  was  sud- 
denly interrupted  in  his  duty  by  a  voice  of  execration 
and  blasphemy.  Instantly,  with  a  look  of  holy  indig- 
nation, he  turned  to  that  part  of  the  multitude  whence 
the  voice  appeared  to  proceed  ;  and  singling  out,  as  he 
supposed,  the  guilty  person,  he  publicly  rebuked  her  in 
terms  as  severe  as  the  nature  of  the  offence  demanded. 
After  the  service  was  concluded,  he  received  information 
that  his  rebuke  had  been  improperly  directed — when  he 
immediately  recalled  the  people,  who  were  then  dispers- 
ing from  the  grave  ;  and  pointing  to  the  person  whom 
he  had  unwittingly  injured,  he  expressed  the  utmost 
concern  at  having  confounded  the  innocent  with  the 
guilty,  and  declared  that  as  his  error  was  public,  so 
he  desired  publicly  to  solicit  the  pardon  of  the  offended 
party. 

"  These  may  serve  as  sufficient  proofs  of  the  candid 
and  condescending  manner  in  which  Mr.  Fletcher  was 
accustomed  to  acknowledge  and  repair  those  uninten- 


LIFE  OF  RF.V.  J.  FLETCHER. 


313 


tional  errors  which  neither  his  wisdom  nor  piety  could 
wholly  prevent." 

27*  The  same  spirit  of  humility  which  made  Mr. 
Fletcher  so  ready  to  acknowledge  his  own  errors,  in- 
duced him  to  throw  the  mantle  of  tender  forbearance 
and  forgiving  love  over  those  of  others,  especially  of 
such  as  he  had  reason  to  believe,  notwithstanding  their 
defects,  were  truly  pious,  and  to  discern  and  esteem  the 
image  of  their  heavenly  Father  in  them.  "His  fellow- 
ship (Portrait,  page  125)  with  these  was  intimate  and 
unreserved.  He  saluted  them  as  the  children  of  God, 
and  honoured  them  as  heirs  of  an  eternal  inheritance. 
These  were  the  companions  of  his  choice,  both  in  pub- 
lic and  in  private  :  with  these  he  took  sweet  and  solemn 
counsel,  and  with  these  he  rejoiced  to  worship  in  the 
house  of  God.  Whether  they  were  poor  or  rich,  illite- 
rate or  learned,  bond  or  free,  he  considered  them  as  fel- 
low partakers  of  the  same  grace,  and  received  them 
without  partiality,  as  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord.  He 
constantly  watched  over  them  for  good,  and  eagerly 
embraced  every  opportunity  of  rendering  them  accept- 
able service.  He  bore  their  burdens,  he  distributed  to 
their  necessities,  he  covered  their  defects,  and  healed 
their  divisions. 

28.  "Esteeming  all  the  children  of  God  as  members 
one  of  another,  his  catholic  spirit  disdained  those  unnatu- 
ral partitions  by  which  different  parties  of  Christians 
have  endeavoured  to  separate  themselves  from  each 
other.  Sincere  worshippers,  of  every  denomination,  he 
regarded  as  fellow  citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the 
household  of  God:  desiring  no  greater  honour  than  to  be 
counted  as  their  brother,  and  commanded  as  their  servant. 

"The  following  are  his  own  expressions  : — 4  God  for- 
bid that  I  should  exclude  from  my  brotherly  affection, 
and  occasional  assistance,  any  true  minister  of  Christ, 
because  he  casts  the  Gospel  net  among  the  Presbyteri- 
ans, the  Independents,  the  Quakers,  or  the  Baptists  !  If 
they  will  not  wish  me  good  luck  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  I  will  do  it  to  them.  They  may  excommunicate 
me  if  their  prejudices  prompt  them  to  it ;  they  may  build 
up  a  wall  of  partition  between  themselves  and  me  ;  but 
in  the  strength  of  my  God,  whose  love  is  as  boundless 
as  his  immensity,  /  wttt  leap  over  the  VxdV 
14 


314 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


29.  "  Extraordinary  as  these  declarations  may  appear, 
they  are  not  to  be  considered  as  the  professions  of  an 
affected  generosity,  but  as  the  sincere  expressions  of  a 
heart  overflowing  with  brotherly  love.  For  fully  per- 
suaded that  a  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand, 
Mr.  Fletcher  was  anxious  to  maintain  a  state  of  uninter- 
rupted peace  and  unanimity  in  the  household  of  God. 
As  a  fellow  citizen  with  the  saints,  he  considered  him- 
self essentially  interested  in  the  weal  or  wo  of  his  bre- 
thren, and  was  constantly  observed,  either  mingling  his 
tears  with  those  who  wept,  or  triumphing  in  the  joy  of 
such  as  rejoiced  before  God.  Hence,  he  could  not  be- 
hold, as  an  unconcerned  spectator,  the  distress  to  which 
the  Church  was  exposed  in  his  day,  and  the  dissensions 
by  which  it  was  torn  in  pieces ;  but  rather  as  a  true  dis- 
ciple of  that  gracious  Redeemer  who  loved  the  Church, 
and  gave  himself  for  it.  He  was  engaged,  indeed,  in 
those  great  debates  which  disturbed  the  tranquillity  of 
the  religious  world  for  so  long  a  season  ;  and  during 
those  sharp  contests  he  appeared,  it  is  true,  in  the  very- 
front  of  the  battle.  To  all  who  knew  him,  however,  it 
was  sufficiently  evident  that  he  entered  not  into  the  con- 
flict with  any  design  either  to  signalize  himself,  or  to 
establish  the  reputation  of  a  party;  but  rather  to  confirm 
and  build  up  the  Church  in  her  most  holy  faith.  Zeal 
for  God  constrained  him,  upon  this  occasion,  to  take  up 
a  cross  which  he  regarded  as  almost  insupportable  ;  and 
when  he  came  forth  from  the  retirement  he  loved,  in 
the  character  of  a  public  disputant,  he  came  forth  with 
the  language  of  the  evangelical  prophet  in  his  mouth  : 
for  Zion's  sake  will  I  not  hold  my  peace,  a  nd  for  Jeru- 
salem's sake  will  I  not  rest,  until  the  righteousness 
thereof  go  forth  as  brightness,  and  the  salvation  there- 
of as  a  lamp  that  burncth.  His  attacks  were  constantly 
directed,  not  against  the  leaders  of  any  particular  sect, 
but  against  the  errors  of  every  sect:  and  in  carrying  on 
these  attacks  he  manifested  a  degree  of  impartiality  and 
candour  which  few  have  ever  discovered  in  similar  cir- 
cumstances. While  he  cautiously  exposed  the  apparent 
mistakes  of  his  opponents,  he  put  his  own  religious 
opinions  to  a  fiery  trial ;  and  whatever  was  unable  to 
stand  the  severest  test  he  considered  as  no  better  than 
vanity  and  dross.    Like  the  Apostle  Paul,  he  could  do 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


315 


tiuthing  knowingly  against  the  truth,  but  for  the  truth: 
and,  on  whatever  side  this  was  discoverable,  he  saluted 
it  with  all  that  respect  and  veneration  which  effectually 
distinguished  him  as  a  lover  of  truth.* 

30.  Through  the  whole  contest  he  treated  his  oppo- 
nents with  much  deference  and  regard,  cordially  acknow- 
ledging them  as  brethren  in  Christ,  and  constantly  men- 
tioning them  as  persons  whose  piety  and  zeal  could 
scarrel\  be  paralleled.  He  ardently  desired  to  embrace 
them  as  his  companions  in  the  kingdom  and  patience 
of  their  common  Master  ;  and  as  a  standing  proof  of  his 
pacilic  disposition  toward  them,  one  of  the  last  pieces 

♦  Mr.  Rowland  Hill,  in  his  Village  Dialogues,  after  having 
exposed  an  ignorant  doctor,  who  had  spoken  of  a  milder  law, 
"lowered  down  to  be  m.ide  more  suitable  to  us  in  our  corrupted 
state;"  and  had  taught  "  that  God  would  now  accept  sincere  in- 
stead of  a  perfect  nbed ienrs. .•"  rnd  that,  therelbre,  "he  would  put 
up  with  the  innocent  infirmities  incident  to  flesh  and  blood;"  has 
the  following  note: — 

"  This  filthy,  AntinomiEn  expression  I  well  remember  to  have 
controverted  many  years  ago,  as  I  found  it  in  one  of  the  late  Rev. 
Mr.  Fletcher's  Clucks  to  Antinomianism :  the  great  advocate  (to 
say  the  best)  of  the  double  refined  semi-Pelagianism  of  the  day : 
so"  inconsistent  are  those  writers  with  themselves!  This  old 
heresy  (whose  proper  nest  is  popery)  has  been  revived  in  modern 
days  under  the  name  of  A  rminianism  ;  and  the  reader  is  requested 
to  "weigh  the  subject,  whether  their  Antinomianism  be  not  a  thou- 
sand times  worse  than  what  they  wantonly  charge  on  others.  I 
ask,  whatever  good  may  be  found  among"  individuals,  yet  what 
have  these  modern  prevailing  notions  in  general  produced  ihrough- 
out  all  Christendom  1  A  system  of  infidelity  has  polluted  the  un- 
derstanding, and  therefore  it  is  no  wonder,  when  they  talk  of  the 
fruits  of  righteousness,  that  their  fruits  are  found  to  be  the  apples 
of  Sodom."  (Vol.  iii,  p.  156,  4th  edition.) 

Lei  the  attentive  and  candid  reader  compare  this  note  of  Mr. 
Rowland  Hill  with  Mr.  Fletchers  "  Appeal  to  Matter  of  Fact  and 
Common  Sense,"  on  the  subject  of  original  sin,  and  he  will  easilv 
see  with  what  justice  that  gentleman  charges  Mr.  Fletcher  with 
semi-Pclauinnism.  Has  any  writer,  since  the  days  of  the  cpostles, 
represented  the  fallen  state  of  man  in  a  stronger  light,  or  painted 
it  in  more  expressive  colours,  than  he  has  done  in  that  tract  1  Or 
has  any  one  shown  more  clearly,  or  proved  more  convincingly, 
our  need  of  regenerating  and  renewing  grace  1  And  are  not 
his  Checks  the  greatest  bulwark  against  Antinomianism,  next  to 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  of  any  publications  in  the  English  language  1 
As  to  his  practice,  perhaps  a  more  holy  man  never  appeared  in 
this  country.  For  a  confutation  of  this  most  unmerited, "and,  I  may 
say,  groundless  insinuation,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  Methodist 
Magazine  for  Janunry,  1805  :  and  to  the  whole  of  Mr  Fletcher's 
publications  on  Divine  subjects. 


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LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


he  published  in  the  controversy  was  entitled,  Tlie  Re- 
conciliation :  a  work  in  which  he  urged  the  strongest 
motives  to  charity  and  concord,  endeavouring,  by  every 
possible  mean,  to  prevail  with  the  professing  part  of  the 
world  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of 
peace.  The  following  passage,  selected  from  that  work, 
will  sufficiently  evince  his  utter  detestation  of  party 
spirit  and  divisions  in  the  Christian  Church  : — "  Come 
with  me,  my  Calvinian  and  Arminian  brethren,  to  the 
temple  of  peace,  where  the  Lord's  banner  over  you  will 
be  love,  and  his  mercy  will  comfort  you  on  every  side. 
If  there  be,  therefore,  any  consolation  in.  Christ,  if  any 
comfort  of  love,  if  any  fellowship  of  the  Spirit,  if  any 
bowels  of  mercies,  fulfil  ye  the  joy  of  all  who  wish 
Zion's  prosperity :  be  like  minded,  having  the  same 
love,  being  of  one  accord,  of  one  mind,  submitting 
yourselves  one  to  another  in  the  fear  of  God.  He  is 
my  record  how  greatly  I  long  after  you  all  in  the  bowels 
of  Jesus  Christ ;  in  whom  there  is  neither  Greek  nor 
Jew,  bond  nor  free,  neither  Calvinist  nor  Arminian,  but 
Christ  is  all  in  all.  My  heart  is  enlarged ;  for  a  re- 
compense in  the  same,  be  ye  also  enlarged,  and  grant 
me  my  humble,  perhaps  my  dying  request :  reject  not 
my  plea  for  peace.  If  it  be  not  strong,  it  is  earnest ; 
for  (considering  my  bodily  weakness)  I  write  at  the 
hazard  of  my  life  ;  animamque  in  vulnere  pono." 

"  Such  was  the  catholic  spirit  discovered  by  this  great 
man  in  the  warmest  of  his  religious  contentions  ;  such 
was  the  forbearance  and  affection  which  he  constantly 
exercised  toward  the  most  zealous  of  his  opposers  ; 
and  such  was  his  anxious  concern,  that  every  inferior 
name  might  be  lost  in  that  exalted  Name,  by  which 
alone  the  world  can  be  saved,  saying,  in  the  language 
of  his  Master,  Whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  my  Father 
that  is  in  heaven,  the  same  is  my  brother,  and  sister, 
and  mother." 

31.  In  the  meantime,  however,  he  was  far  from  be- 
traying what  he  knew  to  be  the  truth,  or  from  manifest- 
ing any  backwardness  to  stand  forth  in  its  defence. 
"  Truth,"  says  our  author,  (Portrait,  page  220,)  "  al- 
though she  has  many  professed  admirers,  yet  seldom 
finds  a  steady  follower,  and  still  less  frequently  a  reso- 
lute defender.    Without  a  solid  understanding,  an  up- 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


317 


right  heart,  and  an  unconquerable  resolution,  no  man  is 
properly  qualified  to  maintain  the  rights  of  truth.  He 
that  is  void  of  understanding  will  never  discover  the 
worth  of  truth  :  he  that  is  destitute  of  an  upright  heart 
will  feel  but  little  attachment  to  truth,  notwithstanding 
all  her  worth;  while  he  that  is  of  an  irresolute  temper 
will  rather  desert  her  standard  than  suffer  in  her  cause. 
Balaam  was  eminently  distinguished  by  a  spirit  of  dis- 
cernment, but  was  destitute  of  an  upright  heart :  Peter 
was  possessed  of  an  upright  heart,  but  betrayed,  on  a 
memorable  occasion,  the  want  of  an  undaunted  spirit : 
Saul,  the  Pharisee,  though  remarkable  for  his  upright- 
ness and  resolution,  was  miserably  defective  with  respect 
to  spiritual  discernment ;  while  Paul,  the  apostle,  uniting 
in  his  character  these  several  qualifications,  became  a 
zealous  and  steady  defender  of  truth."  It  would  be  dif- 
ficult to  say  in  which  of  these  three  qualifications  Mr. 
Fletcher  principally  excelled  ;  so  happily  proportioned 
was  his  sincerity  to  his  discernment,  and  the  firmness 
of  his  resolution  to  the  uprightness  of  his  heart !  Thus 
remarkably  furnished  for  the  service  of  truth,  he  engaged 
himself  in  her  cause  with  an  extraordinary  degree  of 
activity  and  zeal,  earnestly  desiring  to  see  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth  illuminated  with  her  beams,  and  the 
inhabitants  of  every  country  submitting  to  her  authority. 
Wherever  he  came,  he  exalted  her  honours,  and  bore 
testimony  to  her  matchless  worth,  making  mention  of 
her  ways  as  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  recommending 
her  paths  as  paths  of  peace. 

32.  "Whenever  he  saw  spiritual  truth  triumphant,  he 
rejoiced  at  the  sight  as  one  that  fin deth  great  spoil: 
when  he  beheld  her  despised  and  rejected,  he  cheerfully 
shared  her  disgrace,  and  suffered  in  her  cause.  If  her 
excellences  were  at  any  time  obscured  by  the  miscon- 
ceptions of  the  ignorant,  he  endeavoured  to  dissipate 
that  obscurity,  and  exhibit  her  to  the  world  in  all  her 
native  lustre.  If  he  saw  her  assaulted,  he  voluntarily 
exposed  himself  to  danger  in  her  defence  :  and  whether 
the  attack  was  made  by  mistaken  friends,  or  inveterate 
enemies,  he  opposed  it  as  a  man  wholly  proof  against 
the  undue  influence  of  prejudice  or  interest,  resentment 
or  respect.  In  all  his  struggles  for  truth,  he  contended 
with  confidence,  but  without  obstinacy ;  with  zeal,  but 


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LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


not  with  bitterness  ;  in  meekness  instructing  those  that 
opposed  themselves,  if  God,  pcradventvre,  might  give 
them  repentance  to  the  acknowledging  of  the  truth.  If 
the  error  he  discovered  was  merely  of  a  circumstantial 
nature,  he  pursued  it  with  less  severity  ;  but  if  it  was 
a  fundamental  error,  he  opposed  it  with  a  holy  vehe- 
mence, giving  it  no  quarter,  till  it  was  allowed,  by  the 
candid  and  impartial,  to  be  absolutely  untenable  :  in 
the  meantime,* making  it  abundantly  manifest,  by  his 
modest  and  courteous  deportment,  that  he  contended 
not  for  the  acquisition  of  victory,  but  for  the  exaltation 
of  truth. 

33.  "  His  ardent  attachment  to  Divine  truth  would  not 
permit  him  to  hear,  in  silence,  the  least  insinuation  that 
might  be  thrown  out  to  the  disadvantage  of  Christianity. 
And  in  some  companies  he  thought  it  necessary  to  call 
upon  the  avowed  despisers  of  revelation  either  to  esta- 
blish or  retract  the  charges  they  had  exhibited  against 
the  religion  of  Jesus.  In  England  he  very  rarely  mixed 
with  persons  of  an  irreligious  conversation  ;  but  in  his 
passage  through  other  countries  he  was  frequently 
obliged  to  associate  M-ith  men  of  a  character  altogether 
opposite  to  his  own.  In  Italy,  France,  and  Holland, 
he  has  taken  his  seat,  with  a  steady  composure,  among 
Deists,  Socinians,  and  Freethinkers  ;  and  after  vainly 
endeavouring,  in  the  politest  manner,  to  introduce  a 
conversation  respecting  Divine  truth,  has  been  often 
constrained  to  signify  his  desire  of  exchanging  an  argu- 
ment with  any  gentleman  in  company,  on  the  subject 
of  natural  religion.  As  these  offers  were  always  made 
in  the  most  graceful  terms,  they  were  frequently  ac- 
cepted in  a  becoming  manner,  when  a  conversation  has 
usually  taken  place,  sufficiently  interesting  to  excite  the 
curiosity  and  engage  the  attention  of  every  person  pre- 
sent. Upon  every  occasion  of  this  nature  he  appeared 
perfectly  dispassionate  and  recollected,  discovering  an 
accurate  acquaintance  with  every  part  of  his  subject, 
and  never  failing  to  foil  his  strongest  antagonists  upon 
their  own  ground.  And  in  the  close  of  every  such  de- 
bate, he  was  careful  to  recapitulate  the  principal  argu- 
ments which  had  been  advanced  by  either  party  in  the 
course  of  the  contest ;  ascribing  the  victory  he  had 
obtained  to  the  irresistible  power  of  truth,  and  enume- 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


319 


rating  the  special  advantages  of  revealed  over  natural 
religion." 

34.  We  have  noticed  Mr.  Fletcher's  affection  for  the 
children  of  God  :  we  must  now  observe  that  while  he 
loved  them  with  a  pure  heart  fervently  in  proportion  as 
he  conceived  they  severally  exhibited  the  excellences 
and  perfections  of  their  Creator  he  looked  upon  every 
individual  of  the  human  race  with  emotions  of  benevo- 
lence and  charity.  For  in  all  he  discovered  some  traces 
of  the  image  of  the  Deity,  although  defaced  and  obscured, 
which  merited  attention  even  in  ruins.  "  His  love  was 
free  and  unconfined,  uninterrupted  by  prejudice,  and 
unmixed  by  suspicion.  (Portrait,  page  121.)  He  had 
a  place  in  his  large  and  generous  heart  for  persons  of 
every  description.  He  considered  himself  as  related  to 
the  inhabitants  of  every  nation,  and  connected  with  the 
members  of  every  Church  :  appearing,  in  every  sense, 
as  a  citizen  of  the  world,  honouring  the  whole  human 
race  as  the  offspring  of  God,  and  encircling  them  all 
with  the  arms  of  brotherly  affection,  however  distin- 
guished from  one  another  by  situation  or  endowments, 
opinions  or  habits.  He  never  left  his  beloved  retire- 
ment, which  was  rendered  sacred  by  converse  with  the 
highest  object  of  his  affections,  unless  he  was  called 
abroad  upon  errands  of  kindness  and  mercy .  And  when- 
ever he  came  forth  into  the  world,  he  looked  upon  all 
around  with  an  air  of  benignity  and  a  glow  of  affection, 
which  strongly  marked  him  as  a  follower  of  that  God 
who  is  loving  unto  every  man,  and  whose  mercy  is  over 
all  his  works. 

"Instead  of  inquiring,  with  the  lawyer  in  the  Gospel, 
Who  is  my  neighbour  ?  he  acted  like  the  good  Sama- 
ritan, treating  even  the  stranger  and  the  outcast,  as  he 
journeyed  through  life,  with  the  kindness  of  a  neigh- 
bour, the  sympathy  of  a  friend,  and  the  tenderness  of  a 
brother.  While  self-love  may  be  likened  to  a  stagnant 
lake,  the  charity  of  this  self-renouncing  pastor  may  be 
fitly  compared  to  a  copious  river,  which,  after  enrich- 
ing a  multitude  of  towns,  villages,  and  hamlets,  and 
after  fertilizing  a  thousand  fields,  loses  itself  in  the 
bosom  of  the  ocean,  from  whence  it  sprung.  And  here 
it  may  be  properly  observed  that  this  noble  current 
was  sufficiently  deep  to  sustain  any  burden,  and  suffi- 


320 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


ciently  rapid  to  force  itself  a  passage  through  every 
obstruction. 

"His  love  was  without  dissimulation,  hot  in  word, 
■neither  in  tongue,  but  in  deed,  and  in  truth.  It  was 
larger  than  his  largest  professions,  and  appeared,  on 
different  occasions,  in  a  vast  variety  of  forms ;  in  con- 
descension, in  compassion,  in  hospitality,  in  forbearance, 
in  kindness,  and  in  liberality.  By  these  benevolent  dis- 
positions, together  with  those  affectionate  labours  in 
which  he  was  constantly  employed,  he  gave  the  most 
convincing  proofs  that  he  was  rooted  and  grounded  in 
that  universal  love  which  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  whole 
law." 

35.  The  source  of  all  these  graces,  which  shone  so 
conspicuous  in  him,  was  his  piety.  "  But  this  (Portrait, 
page  35)  was  of  too  exalted  a  nature  to  admit  of  any 
adequate  description.  They  who  saw  him  only  at  a 
distance  revered  him  as  a  man  of  God  ;  while  they  who 
enjoyed  a  nearer  acquaintance  with  him  were  held  in  a 
state  of  constant  admiration  at  his  attainments  in  the 
Divine  life.  He  appeared  to  enjoy  an  uninterrupted 
fellowship  with  the  Father  and  with  his  Son  Jesus 
Christ.  Every  day  was  with  him  a  day  of  solemn  self- 
dedication,  and  every  hour  an  hour  of  praise  or  prayer. 
Naturally  formed  for  pre-eminence,  no  common  degrees 
of  grace  were  sufficient  to  satisfy  his  unbounded  desires. 
He  towered  above  the  generality  of  Christians,  earnestly 
desiring  the  best  gifts,  and  anxious  to  walk  in  the  most 
excellent  way.  While  others  are  content  to  taste  the 
living  stream,  he  traced  that  stream  to  its  source,  and 
lived  at  the  fountain  head  of  blessedness.  He  was 
familiar  with  invisible  objects,  and  constantly  walked  as 
in  the  presence  of  God.  To  those  who  were  much  con- 
versant with  him,  he  appeared  as  an  inhabitant  of  a  bet- 
ter world  ;  so  perfectly  dead  was  he  to  the  enjoyments 
of  the  present  life,  and  so  wholly  detached  from  its 
anxious  cares !  Wherever  he  was  called  by  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  he  was  acknowledged  as  a  burning  and 
shining  light.  The  common  lights  of  Christians  were 
eclipsed  before  him  ;  and  even  his  spiritual  friends  could 
never  stand  in  his  presence  without  being  overwhelmed 
with  a  consciousness  of  their  OAvn  inferiority  and  unpro- 
fitableness.   While  they  have  seen  him  rising,  as  it 


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321 


were,  upon  the  wings  of  an  eagle,  they  have  been  con- 
founded at  their  inability  to  pursue  his  flight;  and  while 
he  has  given  way  to  the  emotions  of  his  fervent  love, 
they  have  blushed  at  their  own  ingratitude  and  luke- 
warmness.  The  candle  of  the  Lord  eminently  shone 
upon  his  head,  and  the  secret  of  God  was  upon  his 
tabernacle.  When  he  went  out  through  the  city,  or  took 
his  seat  in  the  company  of  the  righteous,  he  was  saluted 
with  unusual  reverence,  and  received  as  an  angel  of  God. 
The  young  men  saw  hi7ti  and  hid  themselves,  and  the 
aged  arose  and  stood  up.  Even  those  who  were  ho- 
noured as  princes  among  the  people  of  God,  refrained 
talking,  and  laid  their  hand  upon  their  mouth.  When, 
the  car  heard  him,  then  it  blessed  him ;  and  when  the 
eye  saw  him,  it  gave  witness  to  him. 

36.  "  His  character  was  free  from  those  inconsisten- 
cies which  are  too  generally  observable  among  the  pro- 
fessors of  Christianity.  Whether  he  sat  in  the  house, 
or  whether  he  walked  by  the  way ;  in  his  hours  of  re- 
tirement, and  in  his  public  labours  ;  he  was  constantly 
actuated  by  the  same  spirit.  When  he  spoke,  his  con- 
versation was  in  heaven  :  and  the  hearts  of  his  intimate 
friends  still  burn  within  them  on  every  recollection  of 
the  gracious  words  that  proceeded  out  of  his  mouth. 
When  he  was  silent,  his  very  air  and  countenance  be- 
spoke an  angelic  mind,  absorbed  in  the  contemplation 
of  God.  When  he  was  engaged  in  the  ordinary  actions 
of  life,  he  performed  them  with  such  a  becoming  serious- 
ness, that  they  assumed  a  striking  and  important  appear- 
ance. In  all  the  changing  circumstances  of  life,  he 
looked  and  acted  like  a  man  whose  treasure  was  laid  up 
in  heaven.  There  his  affections  were  immovably  fixed, 
and  thitherward  he  was  continually  tending  with  all  the 
powers  of  his  soul :  he  spoke  of  it  as  the  subject  of  his 
constant  meditation,  and  looked  to  it  as  travellers  to 
their  appointed  home.  At  times,  when  the  pious  breath- 
ings of  his  soul  were  too  forcible  to  be  repressed,  he 
would  break  forth  into  expressions  of  adoration  among 
his  spiritual  associates,  and  cry  out,  while  tears  of  joy 
were  bursting  from  his  eyes,  My  God!  my  Saviour! 
thou  art  mine !  A  wretch  unworthy  of  thy  notice  !  Yet 
thou  hast  visited  me  with  thy  mercy,  and  honoured  me 
with  thy  favour!  I  adore  thine  unfathomable  love  !  Ye 


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LIFE  OF  KEV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


who  have  tasted  of  his  grace,  assist  me  to  magnify  his 
name.  He  was  an  instrument  always  in  tune  :  and  none 
can  tell,  but  those  who  have  heard,  how  sweetly  it  would 
answer  to  the  touch  of  him  that  strung  it.  He  was  an 
instrument  of  uncommon  compass,  and  wondrouslv 
adapted  to  every  occasion.  Every  breath  that  swept 
over  the  chords  of  this  living  lyre  tlrew  from  it  some 
according  sound  :  if  from  man,  it  produced  strains  of 
affection  and  sympathy;  if  from  God,  it  called  forth 
higher  sounds  of  gratitude  and  devotion.  His  piety  suf- 
fered no  event  to  pass  by  unimproved.  Every  object  led 
him  into  the  presence  of  God,  and  every  occurrence  gave 
rise  to  a  train  of  serious  reflections." 

37.  One  thing  more,  particularly  noticed  by  the  reve- 
rend author  of  these  excellent  traits  of  our  pious  friend's 
character,  is  the  perseverance  of  his  piety,  zeal,  and 
diligence  to  the  end  of  his  life.  "It  is  no  unusual 
thing,"  he  observes,  (Portrait,  page  327,)  "to  behold 
the  professors  of  Christianity  divested,  at  a  maturer 
age,  of  that  burning  love  and  that  irresistible  zeal  by 
which  they  were  peculiarly  distinguished  in  early  life. 
Of  the  many  thousands  who  have,  in  every  age,  begun 
the  sacred  race  with  an  apparent  determination  to  obtain 
the  prize,  the  greater  part,  either  wearied  with  the  in- 
conveniences of  the  way,  or  deluded  by  the  suggestions 
of  the  world,  if  they  have  not  altogether  forsaken  the 
path  of  life,  have  proceeded  in  it  with  so  much  irresolu- 
tion and  weakness,  that  at  the  conclusion  of  their  course 
it  lias  remained  a  matter  of  much  uncertainty,  whether 
they  have  reached  or  fallen  short  of  the  mark  of  their 
high  calling.  With  Mr.  Fletcher  it  was  wholly  the  re- 
verse. The  resolution  that  at  first  engaged  him  to  enter 
upon  the  Christian  course  appeared,  not  only  without 
any  diminution,  but  with  increasing  vigour,  through  the 
several  stages  of  his  rapid  progress.  He  outran  the 
most  zealous  of  his  companions,  he  overtook  many  who 
were  steadily  persevering  in  the  path  of  life,  and  ap- 
peared at  the  head  of  those  who  were  pressing  after 
the  highest  attainable  state  of  sanctity  and  grace.  From 
the  commencement  to  the  conclusion  of  his  pilgrimage, 
there  was  never  once  perceived  in  him  the  least  imagi- 
nable tendency  to  a  loitering  or  lukewarm  disposition  : 
if  he  was  not  every  moment  actually  upon  the  stretch 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


323 


after  spiritual  improvement,  he  was  observed,  at  least, 
with  "his  loins  girded,  his  shoes  on  his  feet,  and  his 
staff  in  his  hand."  The  fervour  of  his  spirit  was  a  silent, 
but  sharp  reproof  to  the  negligent  and  unfaithful:  and 
so  perfectly  averse  was  he  to  every  species  of  trifling, 
that  no  man  of  a  light  or  indolent  spirit  could  possibly 
associate  with  him  for  any  length  of  time. 

38.  "As  he  approached  the  end  of  his  course,  the 
graces  he  had  kept  in  continual  exercise  for  so  long  a 
season  became  more  illustrious  and  powerful :  his  faith 
was  more  assured,  his  hope  more  lively,  his  charity 
more  abundant,  his  humility  more  profound,  and  his  re- 
signation more  complete.  Planted  at  an  early  age  in 
the  house  of  the  Lord,  he  flourished  in  the  courts  of  our 
God  through  all  the  remaining  years  of  his  life,  growing 
up  like  a  palm  tree,  and  spreading-  abroad  like  a  cedar 
in  Lebanon:  and  if  the  fruit  that  he  brought  forth  in 
his  age  was  not  more  plenteous  than  that  which  he  had 
produced  in  former  years,  (which  was  surely  impossi- 
ble.) yet  it  was  more  happily  matured,  and  more  equally 
distributed  among  his  luxuriant  branshes.  To  those 
who  were  intimately  conversant  with  him  at  this  season 
he  appeared  as  a  scholar  of  the  highest  attainments  in 
the  school  of  Christ  •,  or  rather,  as  a  regenerate  spirit  in 
his  latest  state  of  preparation  for  the  kingdom  of  God: 
and  this  extraordinary  eminence  in  grace  was  discover- 
able in  him,  not  from  any  high  external  professions  of 
sanctity,  but  from  that  meekness  of  wisdom,  that  purity 
of  conversation,  and  that  lowliness  of  mind,  by  which 
his  whole  carriage  was  uniformly  distinguished. 

39.  "  For  some  years  before  his  decease,  he  expressed 
a  continual  desire  that  his  labours  and  his  life  might  be 
terminated  together:  and  with  respect  to  his  resigned 
prayer  in  this  matter,  the  assertion  of  the  psalmist  was 
strikingly  verified,  "The  Lord  will  fulfil  the  desire  of 
them  that  fear  him."  His  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God 
appeared  with  undiminished  fervour,  and  his  diligence 
in  filling  up  the  duties  of  his  vocation  continued  with 
unabating  vigour  till  within  a  few  days  of  his  removal  into 
Abraham's  bosom.  Instead  of  outliving  his  zeal  and 
diligence  in  the  best  of  causes,  it  may  truly  be  said  that 
he  fell  an  honourable  martyr  to  his  indefatigable  exer- 
tions in  the  service  of  the  Church:   since  it  was  from 


321 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


the  beds  of  the  diseased  and  the  dying  that  he  brought 
away  with  him  the  infectious  distemper  which  put  so 
unexpected  a  period  to  his  labours.  But  even  after  the 
symptoms  of  this  distemper  had  appeared  sufficiently 
alarming  to  awaken  the  apprehensions  of  his  friends, 
they  were  unable  either  to  damp  his  zeal,  or  to  control 
his  activity :  his  declining  sun  was  to  set,  not  in  obscu- 
rity and  confusion,  but  with  that  mild  and  steady  lustre 
which  might  betoken  something  of  its  future  glory." 


CHAPTER  XI. 
His  Character  by  Mrs.  Fletcher  and  others. 

1.  Having,  in  the  preceding  chapter,  presented  the 
reader  with  the  character  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  drawn  by  the 
masterly  pen  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gilpin,  a  near  neighbour 
and  intimate  friend,  who  knew  him  well,  I  shall  now 
offer  to  his  consideration  one  equally  just  and  striking, 
drawn  by  a  person  still  more  intimate  with  him,  and 
more  thoroughly  acquainted  with  his  manner  of  life,  and 
the  most  secret  springs  of  his  whole  deportment. 
"  From  Mrs.  Fletcher,"  as  Mr.  Wesley  has  observed, 
"  he  concealed  nothing.  They  had  no  secrets  with  regard 
to  each  other,  but  had  indeed  one  house,  one  purse,  and 
c  e  heart.  Before  her  it  was  his  invariable  rule  to  think 
aloud:  always  to  open  the  window  in  his  breast.  And 
to  this  we  are  indebted  for  the  knowledge  of  many  par- 
ticulars which  must  otherwise  have  been  buried  in 
oblivion." 

2.  The  following  are  mostly  her  own  words,  for  where 
they  are  clear  and  expressive,  as  they  generally  are,  it 
is  not  judged  right  to  alter  them  for  altering's  sake. 

"  Whatever  he  might  be  with  regard  to  charity"  says 
she,  "  he  was  no  less  eminent  for  the  spirit  of  faith. 
Indeed,  he  was  not  so  much  influenced  by  impressions 
(which  many  mistake  for  faith)  as  abundance  of  people 
have  been  ;  but  by  a  steady,  firm  reliance  upon  the  love, 
and  truth,  and  faithfulness  of  God.  His  ardent  desire 
was  so  to  believe  as  to  become  a  partaker  of  all  the 


LIFE  OF  REV,  J.  FLETCHER. 


325 


great  and  precious  promises  :  to  be  a  witness  of  all  that 
mind  which  was  in  Christ  Jesus.  And  being  conscious 
that  he  must  be  crucified  with  his  Master,  or  never  reign 
with  him,  he  gave  himself  up  to  him,  to  lie  in  his  hand 
as  the  passive  clay.  He  would  often  say,  '  It  is  my  busi- 
ness, in  all  events,  to  hang  upon  the  Lord,  with  a  sure 
trust  and  confidence  that  he  will  order  all  things  for  the 
best,  as  to  time  and  manner.  Indeed,  it  would  be  easy 
to  be  a  believer ;  nay,  in  truth,  there  would  be  no  room 
for  faith,  if  every  thing  were  seen  here.  But  against 
hope  to  believe  in  hope  ;  to  have  a  full  confidence  in  that 
unseen  power  which  so  mightily  supports  us  in  all  our 
dangers  and  difficulties,  this  is  the  believing  which  is 
acceptable  to  God.'  Sometimes  when  I  have  expressed 
some  apprehension  of  an  approaching  trial,  he  would 
answer,  'I  do  not  doubt  but  the  Lord  orders  all  wisely; 
therefore  I  leave  every  thing  to  him.'  In  outward  dan- 
gers, if  they  were  ever  so  great,  he  seemed  to  know 
no  shadow  of  fear.  When  I  was  speaking  once,  con- 
cerning a  danger  to  which  we  were  then  particularly 
exposed,  he  answered,  'I  know  God  always  gives  his 
angels  charge  concerning  us :  therefore  we  are  equally 
safe  everywhere.' 

3.  "  Not  less  eminent  than  his  faith  was  his  humility. 
Amid  all  his  labours  for  God  and  for  the  good  of  souls, 
he  ever  preserved  that  special  grace,  the  making  no 
account  of  his  own  labours.  He  held  himself  and  his 
own  abilities  in  very  low  esteem;  and  seemed  to  have 
that  word  continually  before  his  eyes,  'I  am  an  unprofit- 
able servant.'  And  this  humility  was  so  rooted  in  him, 
as  to  be  moved  by  no  affront.  I  have  known  many,  even 
of  the  most  provoking  kind,  offered  him  ;  but  he  received 
them  as  his  proper  portion ;  being  so  far  from  desiring 
the  honour  which  cometh  of  men,  that  he  took  pleasure 
in  being  little  and  unknown."  "  Perhaps  it  might  ap- 
pear," observes  Mr.  Wesley,  "  from  some  passages  of 
his  life,  that  in  this  he  even  leaned  to  an  extreme.  For 
genuine  humility  does  not  require  that  any  man  should 
desire  to  be  despised.  Nay,  we  are  to  avoid  it,  so  far  as 
we  possibly  can,  consistently  with  a  good  conscience  ; 
for  that  directian,  Let  no  man  despise  thee,  concerns 
every  man  as  well  as  Timothy." 

M  It  is  rare,"  proceeds  Mrs.  Fletcher,  "  to  meet  with 


326 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


an  eminent  person  who  can  bear  an  equal.  But  it  was 
his  choice  and  his  delight  to  prefer  every  one  to  himself. 
And  this  he  did  in  so  free  and  easy  a  manner,  that  in 
him  it  appeared  perfectly  natural.  He  never  willingly 
suffered  any  unkindtiess  shown  to  him  to  be  mentioned 
again  :  and  if  it  were,  he  generally  answered,  'O  let  it 
drop  ;  we  will  offer  it  in  silence  to  the  Lord.'  And  in- 
deed the  best  way  of  bearing  crosses  is  to  present  them 
all  in  silence  to  God. 

4.  "  From  this  root  of  humility  sprung  such  patience 
as  I  wish  I  could  either  describe  or  imitate.  It  produced 
in  him  a  mind  most  ready  to  embrace  every  cross  with 
alacrity  and  pleasure.  For  the  good  of  his  neighbour, 
nothing  seemed  hard,  nothing  wearisome.  Sometimes 
I  have  been  grieved  to  call  him  out  of  his  study  two  or 
three  times  in  an  hour :  especially  when  he  was  engaged 
in  composing  some  of  his  most  important  works.  But 
he  would  answer  with  his  usual  sweetness,  '  O  my  dear, 
never  mind  that.  It  matters  not,  if  we  are  but  ready  to 
meet  the  will  of  God.  It  is  conformity  to  the  will  of  God 
that  alone  makes  an  employment  excellent.'  He  never 
thought  any  thing  too  mean,  but  sin  ;  he  looked  on 
nothing  else  as  beneath  his  character.  If  he  overtook  a 
poor  man  or  woman  on  the  road,  with  a  burden  too  heavy 
for  them,  he  did  not  fail  to  offer  his  assistance  to  bear 
part  of  it.  And  he  would  not  easily  take  a  denial.  This 
proof  indeed  of  condescension  and  kindness  he  has  fre- 
quently given. 

"  In  bearing  pain  he  was  most  exemplary,  and  con- 
tinued to  be  more  and  more  so  to  the  last.  Nor  was  his 
descending  to  the  capacities  of  the  ignorant  the  least 
remarkable  or  least  humbling  part  of  his  ministry.  And 
he  had  a  most  resolute  courage  in  reproving  of  sin.  To 
daring  sinners,  it  is  well  known,  he  was  a  son  of  thun- 
der !  and  no  worldly  considerations  were  regarded  when- 
ever he  believed  God  had  given  him  a  message  to  deliver 
to  any  of  them. 

5.  "  One  considerable  part  of  humility  is,  to  know  our 
own  places,  and  stand  therein.  Every  member  has  its 
peculiar  appointment  in  the  human  body,  where  the  wise 
Creator  has  placed  it.  And  it  is  well  ihat  each  should 
continue  in  its  place.  For  every  dislocated  bone  gives 
pain,  and  causes  disorder,  and  must  continue  so  to  do, 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


327 


till  it  be  replaced  in  its  proper  socket.  Just  so  every 
dislocated  affection  or  disposition  must  occasion  dis- 
order, give  pain  to  the  soul,  till  it  be  restored  to  its  own 
place;  till  it  be  entirely  fixed  on,  or  resigned  to  God  ; 
till  a  person  gives  his  whole  self  to  the  disposal  of  in- 
finite Wisdom.  This  is  the  proper  place  of  every  ra- 
tional creature;  and  in  this  place  he  invariably  stood. 
Whatever  he  believed  to  be  the  will  of  God  he  resolutely 
performed,  though  it  were  to  pluck  out  a  right  eye,  or 
to  lay  his  Isaac  on  the  altar.  When  it  appeared  that 
God  called  him  to  any  journey,  he  immediately  prepared 
for  it  without  the  least  hesitation  :  although,  for  the  last 
three  or  four  years  of  his  life,  he  hardly  ever  travelled 
to  any  considerable  distance  without  feeling  some  ten- 
dency lo  a  relapse  into  his  former  disorder.  And  it  was 
generally  some  weeks  after  his  return  before  he  reco- 
vered his  usual  strength." 

0.  His  disengagedness  from  the  world  and  love  of  the 
poor,  Mrs.  Fletcher  joins  together.  "  Never,"  says  she, 
"did  I  behold  any  one  more  dead  to  the  things  of  the 
world.  His  treasure  was  above  ;  and  so  was  his  heart 
also.  He  always  remembered  that  admonition  of  the 
apostle,  No  man  that  warreth  e-ntangleth  himself  with 
the  things  of  this  world.  It  was  his  constant  endeavour 
to  preserve  a  mind  free  and  disencumbered  :  and  he  was 
exceeding  wary  of  undertaking  any  business  that  might 
distract  and  hurry  it.  Nevertheless,  in  his  worldly  con- 
cerns, knowing  himself  to  be  a  steward  forGod,  he  would 
not,  through  carelessness,  waste  one  penny.  He  like- 
wise judged  it  to  be  his  bounden  duty  to  demand  what 
he  knew  to  be  his  right.  And  yet  he  could  well  recon- 
cile this  with  that  word,  He  that  will  have  thy  coat,  let 
him  have  thy  cloak  also*  But  whether  he  had  Jess  or 
more,  it  was  the  same  thing  upon  his  own  account;  as 
he  had  no  other  use  for  it,  after  frugally  supplying  his 
own  wants,  and  the  wants  of  those  dependent  on  him, 
but  to  spread  the  Gospel,  and  assist  the  poor.  And  he 
frequently  said  he  was  never  happier  than  when  he  had 

*  The  income  of  his  living  was  no*r  cm  an  average,  more  thaa 
a  hundred  pounds  per  annum.  For  many  of  the  people  called 
Quakers,  living  in  his  parish,  believed  it  unlawful  to  pay  tithes; 
and  Mr.  Fletcher  did  not  choose  to  take  from  them  by  force  what 
they  did  not  Aink  it  lawful  to  give  him. 


328 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


given  away  the  last  penny  he  had  in  his  house.  If  at 
any  time  I  had  gold  in  my  drawers,  it  seemed  to  afford 
him  no  comfort.  But  if  he  could  find  a  handful  of  small 
silver  when  he  was  going  out  to  see  the  sick,  he  would 
express  as  much  pleasure  over  it,  as  a  miser  would  in 
discovering  a  bag  of  hid  treasure.  He  was  never  bet- 
ter pleased  with  my  employment  than  when  he  had  set 
me  to  prepare  food  or  physic  for  the  poor.  He  was 
hardly  able  to  relish  his  dinner  if  some  sick  neighbour 
had  not  a  part  of  it ;  and  sometimes  when  any  of  them 
was  in  want,  I  could  not  keep  the  linen  in  his  drawers. 
On  Sundays  he  provided  for  numbers  of  people  who 
came  from  a  distance  to  hear  the  word  :  and  his  house, 
as  well  as  his  heart,  was  devoted  to  their  convenience. 
To  relieve  them  that  were  afflicted  in  body  and  mind 
was  the  delight  of  his  heart.  Once  a  poor  man,  who 
feared  God,  being  brought  into  great  difficulties,  he  took 
down  all  the  pewter  from  the  kitchen  shelves,  saying, 
'  This  will  help  you,  and  I  can  do  without  it :  a  wooden 
trencher  will  serve  me  just  as  well.'  In  epidemic  and 
contagious  distempers,  when  the  neighbours  were  afraid 
to  nurse  the  sick,  he  has  gone  from  house  to  house, 
seeking  some  that  were  willing  to  undertake  that  office. 
And  when  none  could  be  found,  he  has  offered  his  ser- 
vice to  sit  up  with  them  himself.  But  this  was  at  his 
first  coming  to  Madeley.  At  present  there  is  in  many, 
(and  has  been  for  many  years,)  a  most  ready  mind  to 
visit  and  relieve  the  distressed. 

7.  "  He  thoroughly  complied  with  that  advice, — 

'  Give  to  all  something  :  to  a  good,  poor  man, 
Till  thou  change  hands,  and  be  where  he  began.' 

I  have  heard  him  say  that,  when  he  lived  alone  in  his 
house,  the  tears  have  come  into  his  eyes  when  five  01 
6ix  insignificant  letters  have  been  brought  him,  at  three 
or  fourpence  apiece  ;  and  perhaps  he  had  only  a  single 
shilling  in  the  house  to  distribute  among  the  poor,  to 
whom  he  was  going.  He  frequently  said  to  me,  '  O 
Polly,  can  we  not  do  without  beer?  Let  us  drink  water, 
and  eat  less  meat.  Let  our  necessities  give  way  to  the 
extremities  of  the  poor.' 

8.  "  But  with  all  his  generosity  and  charity  he  was 
strictly  careful  to  follow  the  advice  of  the  apostle,  Owe 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


329 


no  man  anything.  He  contracted  no  debt.  While  he 
gave  all  he  had,  he  made  it  a  rule  to  pay  ready  money 
for  every  thing  ;  believing  this  was  the  best  way  to  keep 
the  mind  unencumbered  and  free  from  care.  Mean- 
while his  substance,  his  strength,  his  life  were  devoted 
to  the  service  of  the  poor.  And,  last  of  all,  he  gave  me 
to  them.  For  when  we  were  married,  he  asked  me 
solemnly,  'Whether  I  was  willing  to  marry  his  parish?' 
And  the  first  time  he  led  me  among  his  people  in  this 
place,  he  said,  'I  have  not  married  this  wife  only  for 
myself,  but  for  you.  I  asked  her  of  the  Lord  for  your 
comfort,  as  well  as  my  own.' 

9.  "  All  his  life,  as  well  as  during  his  illness,  particu- 
larly at  Newington  and  Brislington,  (as  has  been  largely 
related,)  he  was  grateful,  in  a  very  high  degree,  to  those 
who  conferred  the  least  benefit  upon  him,  yea,  or  even 
endeavoured  so  to  do." 

It  will  be  pleasing  and  edifying  to  the  reader  to  see 
how  he  was  wont  to  express  his  gratitude  on  these  occa- 
sions. To  one  he  says  : — "  Your  absence  made  me  post- 
pone thanking  you  for  all  the  kindness  you  showed  me 
when  at  Bristol ;  and  to  lay  me  under  still  greater  obli- 
gations, you  have  sent  me  a  hamper  of  wine  and  broad- 
cloth ;  as  if  it  were  not  enough  to  adorn  and  cover  the 
outside,  but  you  must  also  warm  and  nourish  the  inside 
of  the  body. 

"I  have  now  the  opportunity  of  telling  you,  without 
farther  delay,  that  you  should  have  a  little  mercy  on 
your  friends,  in  not  loading  them  with  such  burdens  of 
beneficence.  How  would  you  like  to  be  loaded  with 
kindnesses  you  could  not  return  ?  Were  it  not  for  a  lit- 
tle of  that  grace  which  makes  us  not  only  willing,  but 
happy,  to  be  nothing — to  be  obliged  and  dependent 
—  your  presence  would  make  me  quite  miserable. 
But  the  mountains  of  Divine  mercy  which  press  down 
my  soul,  have  inured  me  to  bear  the  hills  of  brotherly 
kindness. 

"  I  submit  to  be  clothed  and  nourished  by  you,  as  your 
servants  are,  without  having  the  happiness  of  serving 
you.  To  yield  to  this  is  as  hard  to  friendship  as  to 
submit  to  be  saved  by  free  grace,  without  one  scrap  of 
our  own  righteousness.  However,  we  are  allowed,  both 
in  religion  and  friendship,  to  ease  ourselves  by  thanks 


330 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


and  prayers,  till  we  have  an  opportunity  of  doing  it  by 
actions.  I  thank  you,  then,  my  dear  friend,  and  pray  to 
God  that  you  may  receive  his  benefits  as  I  do  yours. 
Your  broadcloth  can  lap  me  around  two  or  three  times  ; 
but  the  mantle  of  Divine  love,  the  precious  fine  robe  of 
Jesus'  righteousness,  can  cover  your  soul  a  thousand 
times.  The  cloth,  fine  and  good  as  it  is,  will  not  keep 
out  a  hard  shower;  but  that  garment  of  salvation  will 
keep  out  a  shower  of  brimstone  and  fire.  Your  cloth 
will  wear  out,  but  that  fine  linen,  the  righteousness  of 
the  saints,  will  appear  with  a  finer  lustre  the  more  it  is 
worn.  The  moth  may  fret  your  present,  or  the  tailor 
may  spoil  it  in  cutting  ;  but  the  present  which  Jesus  has 
made  you  is  out  of  the  reach  of  the  spoiler,  and  ready 
for  present  wear  ;  nor  is  there  any  fear  of  cutting  it  out 
wrong  ;  for  it  is  seamless,  woven  from  the  top  through- 
out, with  the  white  unbroken  warp  of  thirty-three  years' 
perfect  obedience,  and  the  red  weft  of  his  agony  and 
sufferings  unto  death. 

"  Now,  my  dear  friend,  let  me  beseech  you  to  accept 
of  this  heavenly  present,  as  I  accept  of  your  earthly  one. 
I  did  not  send  you  one  farthing  to  purchase  it ;  it  came 
unsought,  unasked,  unexpected,  as  the  Seed  of  the  wo- 
man ;  and  it  came  just  as  I  was  sending  a  tailor  to  buy 
me  some  cloth  for  a  new  coat ;  immediately  I  stopped 
him,  and  I  hope  when  you  next  see  me,  it  will  be  in 
your  present.  Now  let  Jesus  see  you  in  his.  Walk  in 
white,  adorn  his  Gospel,  while  he  beautifies  you  with 
the  garment  of  salvation.  Accept  it  freely:  wear  no 
more  the  old,  rusty  coat  of  nature  and  self-righteous- 
ness :  send  no  more  to  have  it  patched  :*  make  your 
boast  of  an  unbought  suit ;  and  love  to  wear  the  livery 
of  Jesus.  You  will  then  love  to  do  his  work  :  it  will 
be  your  meat  and  drink  to  do  it :  and  that  you  may  be 
vigorous  in  doing  it,  as  I  shall  take  a  little  of  your  wine 
for  my  stomach's  sake,  take  you  a  good  deal  of  the  wine 
of  the  kingdom  for  your  soul's  sake.  Every  promise 
of  the  Gospel  is  a  bottle,  a  cask,  that  has  a  spring  with- 
in, and  can  never  be  drawn  out.  But  draw  the  cork  of 
unbelief,  and  drink  abundantly,  O  beloved,  nor  be  afraid 

*  Mr.  Fletcher's  generous  friend  had  kindly  requested  him  not 
to  send  his  coal  to  be  patched ;  hence  this  ingenious  and  affection- 
ate reply. 


LIFE  OF  REV. 


J.  FLETCHER. 


331 


of  intoxication  ;  and  if  an  inflammation  follow,  it  will 
only  be  that  of  Divine  love. 

"  I  beg  yon  will  be  more  free  with  the  heavenly  wine, 
than  I  have  been  with  the  earthly,  which  you  sent  me  : 
I  have  not  tasted  it  yet,  but  whose  fault  is  it?  Not  yours* 
certainly,  but  mine.  If  you  do  not  drink  daily  spiritual 
health  and  vigour  out  of  the  cup  of  salvation,  whose 
fault  is  it?  Not  Jesus'  but  yours;  for  he  gives  you 
bis  righteousness  to  cover  your  nakedness,  and  the  con- 
solations of  his  Spirit  to  cheer  and  invigorate  your  soul. 
Accept  and  use.  Wear,  drink,  and  live  to  God.  That 
you  may  heartily  and  constantly  do  this,  is  my  sincere 
prayer  for  you  and  yours." 

To  the  same,  he  writes  at  another  time: — "I  thank 
you,  my  dear  friend,  for  all  your  favours,  and  all  your 
attention  to  me.  Your  more  than  fraternal  love  covers 
me  with  confusion,  and  fills  me  with  acknowledgments. 
What  returns  shall  I  make  ?  I  will  drink  the  cup  of 
thanksgiving,  and  I  will  bless  the  name  of  the  Lord.  I 
will  thank  my  dear  friend,  and  wish  him  all  the  temporal 
blessings  he  has  conferred  upon  me,  and  all  those  spi- 
ritual ones  which  were  not  in  his  power  to  bestow. 
Live  in  health  ;  live  piously;  live  content;  live  in  Christ ; 
live  for  eternity;  live  to  make  your  wife,  your  children, 
your  servants,  your  neighbours  happy,  as  far  as  their 
happiness  depends  on  you  ;  and  may  the  God  of  all 
grace  give  back  a  hundredfold  to  you  and  your  dear 
wife,  all  the  kindnesses  with  which  you  have  loaded  me  ! 
The  Lord  make  you  happy  as  a  father,  a  master,  and  a 
Christian!  The  God  of  peace  be  with  you  without 
interruption  !" 

To  another,  his  language  on  some  similar  occasion 
is,  "Your  kind  letter  I  received  in  the  beginning  of  the 
week,  and  your  kind  present  at  the  end  of  it.  For  both 
I  heartily  thank  you  ;  nevertheless,  I  could  wish  it  were 
your  last  present,  for  I  find  it  more  blessed  to  give  than 
to  receive  ;  and  in  point  of  the  good  things  of  this  life, 
my  body  does  not  want  much,  and  I  can  do  with  what 
is  more  common,  and  cheaper  than  the  rarities  you  ply 
ine  with. 

"Your  bounty  upon  bounty  reminds  me  of  the  re- 
peated mercies  of  our  God.  They  follow  one  another 
as  wave  does  wave  at  sea;  and  all  to  waft  us  to  the 


332 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


pleasing  shore  of  confidence  and  gratitude,  where  we 
can  not  only  cast  anchor  near,  but  calmly  stand  on  the 
Rock  of  ages,  and  defy  the  rage  of  tempests." 

10.  "  Another  uncommon  talent  which  God  had  given 
him,"  says  Mrs.  Fletcher,  "  was  a  peculiar  sensibility 
of  spirit.  He  had  a  temper  the  most  feeling  of  any  I 
ever  knew.  Hardly  a  night  passed  over,  but  some  part 
of  it  was  spent  in  groans  for  the  souls  and  bodies  com- 
mitted to  his  care.  I  dreaded  his  hearing  either  of  the 
sins  or  sufferings  of  any  of  his  people,  before  the  time 
of  his  going  to  bed,  knowing  how  strong  the  impressions 
would  be  on  his  mind,  chasing  sleep  from  his  eyes. 

"  And  yet  I  have  heard  him  speak  of  a  time,  twelve  or 
fourteen  years  ago,  when  he  was  greatly  tempted  to 
think  that  he  was  not  sensible  enough  of  the  afflictions 
of  his  fellow  creatures.  He  thought  Christ  bore  our 
infirmities,  and  carried  our  sorrows :  but,  said  he,  '  I  have 
not  that  Christlike  temper :  I  do  not  bear  the  sorrows 
of  others.  After  being  for  some  time  buffeted  with  this 
temptation,  he  prayed  that  a  measure  of  this  spirit 
might  be  given  to  him.  Not  long  after,  as  he  was  visit- 
ing a  poor  sick  family,  so  lively  a  sense  of  their  afflic- 
tion on  a  sudden  fell  upon  his  mind,  that  he  could  scarce 
get  home.  As  soon  as  he  sat  down  in  his  house,  his 
soul  was  penetrated  with  such  a  sense  of  the  woes  of 
mankind  as  utterly  depressed  and  overcame  him,  and 
drank  up  his  spirits,  insomuch  that  he  could  not  help 
himself,  nor  move  from  one  chair  to  another  ;  and  he 
was  no  more  able  to  walk  or  help  himself  than  a  new- 
born child.  At  the  same  time  he  seemed  to  lose  the  use 
of  his  memory,  and  of  all  his  faculties.  He  thought, 
What  is  this  ?  Is  it  a  disease  ?  Is  it  a  stroke  of  the  palsy? 
Rather  is  it  not  an  answer  to  my  own  ill  judged,  though 
well  intended  prayer?  Did  I  not  ask  a  burden  unsuitable 
to  a  finite,  and  capable  of  being  borne  only  by  an  infinite 
Being  ?  He  remained  some  hours  in  this  situation.  Then 
it  came  into  his  mind,  If  this  be  a  purely  natural  event, 
the  will  of  the  Lord  be  done !  But  if  it  be  the  answer 
to  an  improper  prayer,  God  will  answer  again  by  remov- 
ing it.  He  cried  to  the  Lord,  and  was  restored  to 
strength  both  of  body  and  mind. 

11.  "  When  we  were  at  Leeds  in  the  year  1784, 1  had 
another  proof  of  the  tender  sensibility  of  his  heart.  O 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER.  333 

how  deeply  was  he  affected  for  the  welfare  of  his  bre- 
thren !  When  any  little  disputes  arose  between  them,  his 
inmost  soul  groaned  under  the  burden.  And  by  two  or 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  I  was  sure  to  hear  him 
breathing  out  prayers  for  the  peace  and  prosperity  of 
Sion.  When  I  observed  to  him,  I  was  afraid  it  would 
hurt  his  health,  and  wished  him  to  sleep  more,  he  would 
answer,  'O  Polly,  the  cause  of  God  lies  near  my  heart!' 

"  Toward  me  his  tenderness  was  exerted  in  its  utmost 
extent.  My  soul,  my  body,  my  health,  my  ease  and 
comfort  were  his  daily  study.  We  bad  no  thought,  either 
past  or  present,  which  we  purposely  concealed  from 
each  other.  My  spiritual  advancement  was  his  constant 
endeavour ;  and  to  this  he  was  continually  stirring  me 
up,  inviting  me  to  walk  more  closely  with  God ;  urging 
that  thought,  '  O  my  dear,  let  us  pray  for  dying  grace  ; 
for  we  shall  not  be  here  long.'  His  temporal  affairs  he 
committed  solely  to  me,  though  he  was  always  ready  to 
assist  me  in  the  smallest  matters. 

12.  "One  article  more  remains  to  be  spoken  of, 
namely,  his  communion  with  God.  Although  he  enjoyed 
this,  more  or  less,  at  all  times,  and  in  all  places,  yet  I 
have  frequently  heard  him  observe  that  the  seasons  of 
his  closest  communion  were  always  in  his  own  house,  or 
in  the  church:  usually  in  the  latter.  It  is  much  to  be 
lamented  that  we  have  no  account  of  it  from  his  own 
pen.  It  was  his  constant  endeavour  to  set  the  Lord  be- 
fore him,  and  to  maintain  an  uninterrupted  sense  of  his 
presence.  In  order  to  this,  he  was  slow  of  speech,  and 
had  the  greatest  government  of  his  words.  Indeed,  he 
both  acted,  and  spoke,  and  thought,  as  under  the  eye  of 
God.  And  thus  he  remained  unmoved  in  all  occur- 
rences ;  at  all  times  and  on  every  occasion  possessing 
inward  recollection.  Nor  did  I  ever  see  him  diverted 
therefrom  on  any  occasion  whatever,  either  going  out 
or  coming  in,  whether  by  ourselves  or  in  company. 
Sometimes  he  took  his  journeys  alone  ;  but  above  a 
thousand  miles  I  have  travelled  with  him  ;  during  which 
neither  change  of  company,  nor  of  place,  nor  the  variety 
of  circumstances  which  naturally  occur  in  travelling, 
ever  seemed  to  make  the  least  difference  in  his  firm 
attention  to  the  presence  of  God.  To  preserve  this 
uniform  habit  of  soul,  he  was  so  watchful  and  recollected, 


334 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHEK. 


that  to  such  as  were  unexperienced  in  these  things 
it  might  appear  like  insensibility.  But  no  one  could 
converse  in  a  more  lively  and  sensible  manner,  even  on 
natural  things,  when  he  saw  it  was  to  the  glory  of  God. 
He  was  always  striving  to  raise  his  own,  and  every  other 
spirit,  to  a  close  and  immediate  intercourse  with  God. 
And  I  can  say,  with  truth,  all  his  union  with  me  was  so 
intermingled  with  prayer  and  praise  that  every  employ- 
ment, and  every  meal,  was,  as  it  were,  perfumed  there- 
with." 

13.  I  subjoin  to  the  above  an  extract  of  a  letter  which 
I  wrote  to  Mr.  Wesley  in  the  year  1786,  concerning  the 
character  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  and  which  was  published  in 
the  former  edition  of  his  Life.  For  although,  as  Mr. 
Wesley  observed,  most  of  the  particulars  thereof  are 
contained  in  the  preceding  pages,  yet  as  they  are  here 
placed  in  another  order,  and  have  also  several  new  cir- 
cumstances intermixed,  it  is  hoped  they  will  be  both 
agreeable  and  profitable  to  every  person  of  piety. 

As  to  drawing  the  character  of  that  great  and  good 
man,  as  I  then  observed,  it  is  what  I  will  not  attempt : 
but  if  I  can  suggest  any  thing  that  will  assist  the  reader 
to  form  a  proper  idea  of,  and  excite  him  to  imitate  his 
excellences,  I  shall  think  my  little  labour  well  bestowed. 
With  this  view  I  have  looked  over  most  of  his  letters, 
and  observe  in  them  all,  what  I  have  a  thousand  times 
observed  in  his  conversation  and  behaviour,  the  plainest 
marks  of  every  Christian  grace  and  virtue. 

Perhaps  if  he  followed  his  Master  more  closely  in  one 
thing  than  another,  it  was  in  poverty  of  spirit.  It  is  one 
branch  of  this  to  think  meanly  of  ourselves.  And  he 
certainly  thought  thus  of  himself  in  every  respect ;  as  a 
Christian,  as  a  preacher,  and  as  a  writer.  I  need  not 
say  how  he  shone  in  all  those  characters  ;  but  he  knew 
not  that  he  shone  in  any  of  them.  How  low  an  opinion 
he  had  of  himself  manifestly  appears  from  his  placing 
himself  at  the  feet  of  all,  and  showing  a  continual  desire 
to  learn  from  every  company  he  was  in.  He  paid  all 
due  deference  to  the  judgment  of  others,  readily  acknow- 
ledged whatever  was  good  in  them,  and  seemed  to  think 
himself  the  only  person  in  whom  there  dwelt  no  excel- 
lence worth  notice.  Hence  it  was,  that  he  often  wrote 
and  spoke,  as  wc  have  seen  in  many  parts  of  these 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


33E 


memoirs,  as  if  lie  had  not  received  that  grace  which  he 
undoubtedly  had  received.  Indeed,  he  overlooked  what 
he  had  attained,  through  the  eager  desire  he  had  of 
higher  and  greater  things;  and,  as  many  of  his  letters 
show,  thought  very  meanly  of  his  own  attainments, 
through  the  continually  increasing  views  which  he  had 
of  the  Divine  purity,  and  of  the  high  degree  of  con- 
formity thereto,  which  is  attainable  even  in  this  world. 

14.  As  difficult  as  it  is  to  think  meanly  of  ourselves, 
it  is  still  more  difficult  to  be  willing  that  others  should 
think  meanly  of  us.  And  how  eminent  he  was  in  this 
respect  appears  from  hence,  that  he  was  constantly  upon 
his  guard,  lest  any  expression  should  drop,  either  from 
his  lips  or  pen,  which  might  tend  to  make  any  one  think 
well  of  him,  either  on  account  of  his  family,  or  learning, 
or  parts,  or  usefulness.  Yea,  he  took  as  much  pains  to 
conceal  his  excellences  as  others  do  to  show  theirs; 
having  the  same  desire  to  be  little  and  unknown,  which 
many  have  to  be  known  and  esteemed. 

15.  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn,  said  the  Lord  Jesus. 
And  this  blessedness  was  as  certainly  his  as  that  just 
mentioned.  He  was  a  man  of  a  serious  spirit,  one  that 
stood  at  the  utmost  distance  from  levity  of  every  kind. 
Though  he  was  constantly  cheerful,  as  rejoicing  in  hope 
of  the  heavenly  inheritance,  yet  had  he  too  deep  a  sense 
of  his  own  wants  and  the  wants  of  the  Church  of  God,  a6 
also  of  the  sins  and  miseries  of  mankind,  to  be  at  any  time 
light  or  trifling.  I  have  a  letter  before  me,  (dated  De- 
cember, 1771,)  which  at  once  gives  us  a  picture  of  his 
seriousness,  watchfulness,  and  earnestness  ;  and  contains 
advices  well  deserving  the  consideration  of  all  that  fear 
God  : — "  There  is  undoubtedly,"  said  he,  "  such  a  thing 
as  the  full  assurance  of  faith.  Be  not  discouraged  on 
account  of  thousands  who  stop  short  of  it:  it  is  our  own 
fault  if  we  do  not  attain  it.  God  would  give  us  ample 
satisfaction  if  we  did  but  deeply  feel  our  wants.  Both 
you  and  I  want  a  deeper  awakening,  which  will  produce 
a  death  to  outward  things  and  speculative  knowledge. 
Let  us  shut  our  eyes  to  the  gilded  clouds  without  us :  let 
us  draw  inward,  and  search  after  God,  if  haply  we  may 
find  him.  Let  us  hold  fast  our  confidence,  though  we 
are  often  constrained  against  hope,  to  believe  in  hope. 
But  let  us  not  rest  in  our  confidence,  as  thousands  do  : 


336 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


let  it  help  us  to  struggle  and  wait  till  he  come.  Let  us 
habituate  ourselves  to  live  inwardly.  This  will  solem- 
nize us,  and  prevent  our  trifling  with  the  things  of  God. 
We  may  be  thankful  for  what  we  have,  without  resting 
in  it.  We  may  strive,  and  yet  not  trust  in  our  striving; 
but  expect  all  from  Divine  grace." 

16.  In  these  words  Mr.  Fletcher  gives  us  not  only  an 
example  of  holy  mourning,  but  likewise  of  hungering 
and  thirsting  after  righteousness.  In  this  he  was 
peculiarly  worthy  of  our  imitation.  He  never  rested  in 
any  thing  he  had  either  experienced  or  done  in  spiritual 
matters.  But  this  one  thing  he  did  :  forgetting  those 
things  that  were  behind,  and  reaching  forth  unto  those 
things  which  were  before,  he  pressed  toward  the  mark 
for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ 
Jesus:  he  was  a  true  Christian  racer,  always  on  the 
stretch  for  higher  and  better  things.  Though  his  attain- 
ments, both  in  experience  and  usefulness,  were  above  the 
common  standard,  yet  the  language  of  his  conversation 
and  behaviour  always  was,  Not  as  though  I  had  already 
attained,  either  were  already  perfect;  but  I  follow 
after,  if  by  any  means  I  may  apprehend  that  for  which 
I  am  apprehended  of  Christ  Jesus.  He  had  his  eye 
upon  a  full  conformity  to  the  Son  of  God  ;  or  what  the 
apostle  terms  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness 
of  Christ.  Nor  could  he  be  satisfied  with  any  thing 
less. 

17.  And  he  was  meek,  like  his  Master,  as  well  as  lowly 
in  heart.  Not  that  he  was  so  by  nature  ;  but  a  man  of 
strong  passions,  and  prone  to  anger  in  particular :  inso- 
much that  he  has  frequently  thrown  himself  on  the  floor, 
and  lain  there  most  of  the  night,  bathed  in  tears,  implor- 
ing victory  over  his  own  spirit.  And  he  did  not  strive 
in  vain  :  he  did  obtain  the  victory  in  a  very  eminent  de- 
gree. Yea,  so  thoroughly  had  grace  subdued  nature  ; 
so  fully  was  he  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  his  mind,  that 
for  many  years  before  his  death,  I  believe,  he  was  never 
observed  by  any  one,  friend  or  foe,  to  be  out  of  temper, 
nor  heard  to  utter  a  rash  expression,  on  any  provocation 
whatever  ;  and  provocation  he  sometimes  met  with,  and 
that  in  a  high  degree  ;  especially  from  those  whose  reli- 
gious sentiments  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  oppose.  I 
have  often  thought  the  testimony  that  Bishop  Burnet 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


337 


(in  the  History  of  his  own  Times)  bears  of  Arch- 
bishop Leighton,  might  be  borne  of  him  with  equal  pro- 
priety. "  After  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  arch- 
bishop for  many  years,  and  after  being  with  him  by 
night  and  by  day,  at  home  and  abroad,  in  public  and  in 
private,  on  sundry  occasions  and  in  various  affairs ;  I 
must  say  I  never  heard  an  idle  word  drop  from  his  lips, 
nor  any  conversation  which  was  not  to  the  use  of  edify- 
ing. I  never  saw  him  in  any  temper  in  which  I  myself 
would  not  have  wished  to  be  found  at  death."  Any  one 
that  has  been  intimately  acquainted  with  Mr.  Fletcher 
will  say  the  same  of  him.  But  they  that  knew  him  best 
will  say  it  with  the  most  assurance. 

18.  Hence  arose  his  readiness  to  bear  with  the  weak- 
nesses, and  forgive  the  faults  of  others ;  which  was  the 
more  remarkable,  considering  his  flaming  zeal  against 
sin,  and  deep  concern  for  the  glory  of  God.  Such  hatred 
to  sin,  and  such  love  to  the  sinner,  I  never  saw  joined 
together  before.  This  circumstance,  above  others,  con- 
vinced me  of  the  height  of  his  grace,  perceiving  that  he 
bore  so  much  of  his  Master's  image,  whose  hatred  to  sin 
and  love  to  sinners  are  equally  infinite.  He  took  all 
possible  pains  to  detect  what  was  evil  in  any  of  those 
that  were  under  his  care;  pursuing  it  through  all  its 
turnings  and  windings,  and  stripping  it  of  all  its  dis- 
guises. Yet  none  were  so  ready  to  excuse  it  when  it 
was  confessed,  and  to  conceal  it  even  from  his  most  inti- 
mate friends. 

He  never  mentioned  the  faults  of  an  absent  person 
unless  absolute  duty  required  it.  And  then  he  spoke 
with  the  utmost  tenderness,  extenuating,  rather  than 
aggravating  them.  None  could  draw  his  picture  more 
exactly  than  St.  Paul  has  done,  in  the  thirteenth  chapter 
of  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  Every  feature 
in  that  masterly  piece  of  apostolic  painting  was  found 
in  him.  Let  all  that  knew  him,  especially  his  intimate 
friends,  recollect  the  spirit  and  behaviour  of  this  servant 
of  the  God  of  love  ;  and  then  let  them  judge  whether  I 
exaggerate  when  I  say  he  suffered  long  and  was  kind : 
he  envied  not :  acted  not  rashly  :  was  not  puffed  up  : 
did  not  behave  himself  unseemly :  sought  not  his  own  : 
was  not  provoked.  He  thought  no  evil,  rejoiced  not  in 
iniquity,  but  rejoiced  in  the  truth.  He  covered  all 
15 


338 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


things,  believed  all  things,  hoped  all  things,  and  endured 
all  things.  It  would  be  easy  to  enlarge  on  all  these 
particulars,  and  show  how  they  were  exemplified  in 
him. 

19.  But  waiving  this,  I  would  only  observe  that,  with 
regard  to  two  of  them,  kindness  to  others,  and  not  seek- 
ing his  own,  he  had  few  equals.  His  kindness  to  others 
was  such,  that  he  bestowed  his  all  upon  them  :  his  time, 
his  talents,  his  substance.  His  knowledge,  his  elo- 
quence, his  health,  his  money  were  employed  day  by 
day  for  the  good  of  mankind.  He  prayed,  he  wrote,  he 
preached,  he  visited  the  sick  and  well :  he  conversed, 
he  gave,  he  laboured,  he  suffered,  winter  and  summer, 
night  and  day :  he  endangered,  nay,  destroyed  his  health, 
and  in  the  end  gave  his  life  also  for  the  profit  of  his 
neighbours,  that  they  might  be  saved  from  everlasting 
death.  He  denied  himself  even  such  food  as  was  neces- 
sary for  him,  that  he  might  have  to  give  them  that  had 
none.  And  when  he  was  constrained  to  change  his 
manner  of  living,  still  his  diet  was  plain  and  simple. 
And  so  were  his  clothing  and  furniture,  that  he  might 
save  all  that  was  possible  for  his  poor  neighbours. 

He  sought  not  his  own  in  any  sense  :  not  his  own 
honour,  but  the  honour  of  God,  in  all  he  said  or  did  :  he 
sought  not  his  own  interest,  but  the  interest  of  his  Lord, 
spreading  knowledge,  holiness,  and  happiness,  as  far  as 
he  possibly  could.  He  sought  not  his  own  pleasure,  but 
studied  to  please  all  men  for  their  good  to  edification  : 
and  to  please  Him  that  had  called  him  to  his  kingdom 
and  glory.  And  yet  it  is  certain  he  found  the  greatest 
pleasure  in  pleasing  God  and  his  neighbour.  For  no- 
thing could  give  a  higher  delight  than  this  to  his  pious 
and  benevolent  mind. 

20.  In  the  meantime  he  was  a  man  of  peace,  and 
spared  no  pains  to  restore  it  where  it  was  broken.  He 
gave  numberless  proofs  of  this  amiable  disposition. 
When  we  were  at  Trevecka,  (to  mention  but  one  in- 
stance,) two  of  the  students  were  bitterly  prejudiced 
against  each  other.  He  took  them  into  a  room  by 
themselves,  reasoned  with  them,  wept  over  them,  and 
at  last  prevailed.  Their  hearts  were  broken  :  they  were 
melted  down  :  they  fell  upon  each  other's  neck  and 
wept  aloud. 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER* 


339 


The  pains  which  he  took  to  make  peace  at  the  Leeds 
conference,  in  1784,  will  not  easily  be  forgotten.  And 
although  he  could  not  prevail  so  far  as  might  have  been 
desired,  yet  his  labour  was  not  in  vain. 

But  I  do  not  attempt  to  draw  his  full  character.  I 
wili  only  add,  what  the  apostle  recommends  to  the  Phi- 
lippians  was  exactly  copied  by  him.  He  was  blameless 
and  harmless,  a  son  of  God,  without  rebuke,  in  the  ?nidst 
of  a  crooked  and  perverse  generation  ;  shining  among 
them  as  a  light  in  the  world* 

21.  To  the  above,  Mr.  Wesley  adds: — "I  think  one 
talent  wherewith  God  had  endued  Mr.  Fletcher  has  not 
been  sufficiently  noted  yet.  I  mean  his  courtesy :  in 
which  there  was  not  the  least  touch  either  of  art  or 
affectation.  It  was  pure  and  genuine,  and  sweetly  con- 
strained him  to  behave  to  every  one  (although  particu- 
larly to  inferiors)  in  a  matiner  not  to  be  described  :  with 
so  inexpressible  a  mixture  of  humility,  love,  and  respect. 
This  directed  his  words,  the  tone  of  his  voice,  his  looks, 
his  whole  attitude,  his  every  motion.  This  seems  to  be 
intended  by  St.  Paul,  in  those  words,  Ovk  uax'/fiovti.  Not 
so  well  expressed  in  our  translation  by  behaveth  not  it- 
self unseemly.  Do  not  the  words  literally  mean,  Is  not 
ill-bred  ?  Behaves  on  all  occasions  with  decency  and 
good  breeding  ?  Certainly  so  did  Mr.  Fletcher.  Never 
did  any  man  more  perfectly  suit  his  whole  behaviour 
to  the  persons  and  the  occasion.  So  that  one  might 
apply  to  him,  with  great  propriety,  the  words  of  the 
ancient  poet : — 

'  Ilium,  quicquid  agit,  quoquo  vestigia  tendit 
Componit  furtim  subsequiturq ;  decor.' 

I  cannot  translate  this  :  but  I  can  give  the  English  reader 
a  parallel,  and  more  than  a  parallel. 

1  Grace  was  in  all  his  steps,  heaven  in  his  eye, 
In  all  his  gestures  sanctity  and  love.'  " 


340 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
His  death. 

1.  "  Some  weeks  before  he  was  taken  ill,  (says  Mrs. 
Fletcher,)  he  mentioned  to  me  a  peculiar  manifestation 
of  love  which  he  received  in  his  own  house,  with  the 
application  of  those  words,  Thou  shalt  walk  with  me  in 
white,  lie.  added,  It  is  a  little  thing  so  to  hang  upon 
God  by  faith  as  to  feel  no  departure  from  him,  and  no 
rising  in  the  heart  against  him.  This  does  not  satisfy 
mc.  And  I  sometimes  find  such  gleams  of  light  and 
love,  such  wafts,  as  it  were,  of  the  heavenly  air,  so 
powerful,  as  if  they  would  just  then  take  my  soul  with 
them  to  glory  !  But  /  am  not  filled.  I  want  to  be  filled 
with  all  the  fulness  of  God.  In  conformity  to  these 
sentiments,  when  he  was  in  his  last  illness  he  expressed 
himself  thus  : — '  I  am  filled,  most  sweetly  filled.'  This 
conveyed  much  to  my  mind,  as  I  understood  by  it  the 
accomplishment  of  his  large  desires. 

2.  "Some  time  before  the  beginning  of  his  last  sick- 
ness he  was  peculiarly  penetrated  with  a  sense  of  the 
nearness  of  eternity.  There  was  scarce  an  hour  in 
which  he  was  not  calling  upon  us  to  drop  every  thought 
and  every  care,  that  we  might  attend  to  nothing  but  the 
drinking  deeper  into  God.  We  spent  much  time  in 
wrestling  with  God,  and  were  led  in  a  peculiar  manner 
to  abandon  our  whole  selves,  our  souls  and  bodies,  into 
the  hands  of  God  ;  ready  to  do,  and  willing  to  suffer 
whatever  was  well  pleasing  to  him. 

44  And  now  the  time  drew  near  when  his  faith  was  to 
be  called  to  its  last  grand  exercise.  A  little  before  this, 
being  on  his  knees  in  prayer  for  light,  whether  he  should 
go  to  London  or  not,  the  answer  to  him  seemed  to  be, 
4  Not  to  London,  but  to  thy  grave.'  When  he  acquainted 
me  with  this,  he  said,  with  a  heavenly  smile,  4  Satan 
would  represent  it  to  me  as  something  dreadful,  enforcing 
those  words,  The  cold  grave!  The  cold  grave  V  On 
the  Sunday  following,  (I  think  it  was  the  next  day,)  that 
anthem  was  sung  in  church,  The  Lord  is  my  shepherd, 
therefore  can  I  lack  nothing.  He  shall  feed  me  in 
green  pastures,  and  lead  me  forth  beside  the  waters  of 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


341 


comfort.  He  shall  convert  my  soul,  and  bring  me  forth 
in  the  paths  of  righteousness  for  his  name's  sake. 
Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow 
of  death  I  shall  fear  no  evil;  for  thou  art  with  me; 
thy  rod  and  staff  shall  comfort  me.  Thou  shall  pre- 
pare a  table  before  mc  against  them  that  trouble  me. 
Thou  hast  anointed  my  head  with  oil,  and  my  cup  shall 
be  full. 

"  In  his  return  home  he  observed  in  how  uncommon 
a  degree  these  words  had  been  blessed  to  his  soul.  And 
from  that  very  time  I  do  not  remember  to  have  seen 
in  him  any,  the  least  marks  of  temptation.  He  showed 
an  unusual  cheerfulness  and  liveliness  in  every  part  of 
his  work,  and  seemed  to  increase  in  strength  of  body,  as 
well  as  in  strength  of  soul.  Truly  it  was  to  him  ac- 
cording to  his  faith.  He  feared  no  evil,  and  his  cup 
was  filled  with  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

"  On  Thursday,  August  4th,  he  was  employed  in  the 
work  of  God  from  three  in  the  afternoon  till  nine  at 
night.  When  he  came  home  he  said,  '  I  have  taken 
cold  ;'  but  seemed  not  to  regard  it.  He  was  far  from 
well  on  Friday  and  Saturday  ;  but  was  uncommonly 
drawn  out  in  prayer.  On  Saturday  night  he  was  abun- 
dantly worse,  and  his  fever  appeared  very  strong.  I 
begged  that  he  would  by  no  means  think  of  going  to 
church  in  the  morning.  But  he  told  me  it  was  the 
will  of  the  Lord  ;  in  which  case  I  never  dared  to 
persuade." 

3.  "The  Rev.  Mr.  Gilpin"  as  he  has  informed  us, 
"  called  upon  him  in  the  morning,  with  an  earnest  re- 
quest that  he  would  permit  him,  if  not  to  take  the  whole 
of  his  duty  on  that  day,  at  least  to  share  it  with  him. 
But  this  he  would  by  no  means  be  prevailed  upon  to 
suffer,  assuring,  him  with  an  air  of  holy  confidence,  that 
God  would  sufficiently  strengthen  him  to  go  through 
the  duties  of  the  day.  This  was  his  last  appearance  in 
public  ;  and  several  who  were  present  upon  this  memo- 
rable occasion  were  affected,  beyond  all  description,  with 
the  melancholy  circumstances  of  the  day.  He  opened 
the  reading  service  with  apparent  strength ;  but  before 
he  had  proceeded  far  in  it,  his  countenance  changed,  his 
speech  began  to  falter,  and  it  was  with  the  utmost  diffi- 


342 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


culty  that  he  could  keep  himself  from  fainting.  Every 
eye  was  riveted  upon  him,  deep  solicitude  was  painted 
on  every  face,  and  confused  murmurs  of  distress  ran 
through  the  whole  congregation.  In  the  midst  of  thi3 
affecting  scene,  Mrs.  Fletcher  was  seen  pressing  through 
the  crowd,  and  earnestly  entreating  her  dying  husband 
no  longer  to  attempt  what  appeared  to  be  utterly  im- 
practicable. But  he,  as  though  conscious  that  he  was 
engaged  in  his  last  public  work,  mildly  refused  to  be 
entreated  ;  and  struggling  against  an  almost  insupport- 
able languor,  constrained  himself  to  continue  the  ser- 
vice. The  windows  being  opened,  he  appeared  to  be  a 
little  refreshed,  and  began  to  preach  with  a  strength  and 
recollection  that  surprised  all  present.  In  the  course 
of  his  sermon  the  idea  of  his  weakness  was  almost  lost 
in  the  freedom  and  energy  with  which  he  delivered  him- 
self. Mercy  was  the  subject  of  his  discourse ;  and  while 
he  expatiated  on  this  glorious  attribute  of  the  Deity,  its 
unsearchable  extent,  its  eternal  duration,  and  its  asto- 
nishing effects,  he  appeared  to  be  carried  above  all  the 
fears  and  feelings  of  mortality.  There  was  something 
in  his  appearance  and  manner  that  gave  his  word  an 
irresistible  influence  upon  this  solemn  occasion.  An 
awful  concern  was  awakened  through  the  whole  assem- 
bly, and  every  one's  heart  was  uncommonly  moved. 
Upon  the  hearts  of  his  friends,  in  particular,  a  most 
affecting  impression  was  made  at  this  season ;  and  what 
deepened  that  impression  was  the  sad  presentiment, 
which  they  read  in  each  other's  countenance,  of  their 
pastor's  approaching  dissolution. 

"After  sermon  he  walked  up  to  theeommunion  table, 
uttering  these  words: — 'I  am  going  to  throw  myself 
under  the  wings  of  the  cherubim,  before  the  mercy  seat.' 
Here  the  same  distressing  scene  was  renewed  with  addi- 
tional solemnity.  The  people  were  deeply  affected  while 
they  beheld  him  offering  up  the  last  languid  remains  of 
a  life  that  had  been  lavishly  spent  in  their  service. 
Groans  and  tears  were  on  every  side.  In  going  through 
this  last  part  of  his  duty,  he  was  exhausted  again  and 
again  ;  but  his  spiritual  vigour  triumphed  over  his  bodily 
weakness.  After  several  times  sinking  on  the  sacra- 
mental table,  he  still  resumed  his  sacred  work,  and 
cheerfully  distributed,  with  his  dying  hand,  the  love 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


343 


memorials  of  his  dying  Lord.  In  the  course  of  this 
concluding  office,  which  he  performed  by  means  of  the 
most  astonishing  exertions,  he  gave  out  several  verses 
of  hymns,  and  delivered  many  affectionate  exhortations 
to  his  people,  calling  upon  them,  at  intervals,  to  cele- 
brate the  mercy  of  God  in  short  songs  of  adoration  and 
praise.  And  now,  having  struggled  through  a  service 
of  near  four  hours'  continuance,  he  was  supported  with 
blessings  in  his  mouth,  from  the  altar  to  his  chamber, 
where  he  lay  for  some  time  in  a  swoon,  and  from  whence 
he  never  walked  into  the  world  again." 

"  After  this,"  proceeds  Mrs.  Fletcher,  "  he  dropped 
into  a  sleep  for  some  time,  and,  on  waking,  cried  out 
with  a  pleasant  smile,  •  Now,  my  dear,  thou  seest  I  am 
no  worse  for  doing  the  Lord's  work.  He  never  fails 
me  when  I  trust  in  him.'  Having  eaten  a  little  dinner, 
he  dosed  most  of  the  evening,  now  and  then  waking  up 
with  the  praises  of  God  in  his  mouth.  At  night  his 
fever  returned,  but  it  was  not  violent ;  and  yet  his 
strength  decreased  amazingly.  On  Monday  and  Tues- 
day we  had  a  little  paradise  together.  He  lay  on  a 
couch  in  the  study  ;  and,  though  often  changing  posture, 
was  sweetly  pleasant,  and  frequently  slept  a  good  while 
together.  When  he  was  awake,  he  delighted  in  hear- 
ing me  read  hymns  and  treatises  on  faith  and  love. 
His  words  were  all  animating,  and  his  patience  beyond 
expression.  When  he  had  a  very  nauseous  medicine 
to  take,  he  seemed  to  enjoy  the  cross,  according  to  a 
word  which  he  was  used  often  to  repeat,  '  We  are  to 
seek  a  perfect  conformity  to  the  will  of  God  ;  and 
leave  him  to  give  us  pleasure  or  pain,  as  it  seemeth  him 
good.' 

"  I  asked  him  whether  he  had  any  directions  to  give 
me  if  he  should  be  taken  from  me  ?  since  I  desired  to 
form  my  whole  life  thereby.  He  replied,  '  No,  not  by 
mine  :  the  Holy  Ghost  shall  direct  thee.  I  have  nothing 
particular  to  say.'  I  said,  Have  you  any  conviction  that 
God  is  about  to  take  you !  He  said,  '  No  ;  only  I  always 
see  death  bo  inexpressibly  near,  that  we  both  seem  to 
stand  on  the  verge  of  eternity.'  While  he  slept  a  little, 
I  besought  the  Lord,  if  it  were  his  good  pleasure,  to 
spare  him  to  me  a  little  longer.  But  my  prayer  seemed 
to  have  no  wings:  and  I  could  not  help  mingling  con- 


344 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


timially  therewith,  Lord,  give  me  perfect  resignation  ! 
This  uncertainty  made  me  tremble,  lest  God  was  going 
to  put  into  my  hands  the  bitter  cup  with  which  he 
threatened  my  husband.  Some  weeks  before,  I  myself 
was  ill  of  a  fever,  and  not  without  danger.  My  husband 
then  felt  the  whole  parting  scene,  and  struggled  for  a 
perfect  resignation.  He  said,  '  O  Polly,  shall  I  ever 
see  the  day  when  thou  must  be  carried  out  to  bury  ! 
How  will  the  little  things  which  thy  tender  care  has 
prepared  for  me,  in  every  part  of  the  house,  wound  and 
distress  me  !  How  is  it?  I  think  I  feel  jealousy  !  I  am 
jealous  of  the  worms  !  I  seem  to  shrink  at  the  thought 
of  giving  my  dear  Polly  to  the  worms.' 

4.  "Now all  these  reflections  returned  upon  my  heart 
with  the  weight  of  a  millstone.  I  cried  to  the  Lord,  and 
these  words  were  deeply  impressed  on  my  spirit,  Where 
I  am,  there  shall  my  servants  be,  that  they  may  behold 
my  glory.  This  promise  was  full  of  comfort  to  my 
soul.  I  saw  that  in  Christ's  immediate  presence  was  our 
home,  and  that  we  should  have  our  reunion  in  being 
deeply  centred  in  him.  I  received  it  as  a  fresh  marriage 
for  eternity  ;  as  such  I  trust  for  ever  to  hold  it.  All 
that  day,  whenever  I  thought  of  the  expression,  to  be- 
hold my  glory,  it  seemed  to  wipe  away  every  tear,  and 
was  as  the  ring  whereby  we  were  joined  anew. 

"  Awaking  some  time  after,  he  said,  '  Polly,  I  have 
been  thinking  it  was  Israel's  fault  that  they  asked  for 
signs.  We  will  not  do  so :  but  abandoning  our  whole 
selves  to  the  will  of  God,  will  lie  patiently  before  him ; 
assured  that  he  will  do  all  things  well.' 

"  My  dear  love,  said  I,  if  I  have  ever  done  or  said  any 
thing  to  grieve  thee,  how  will  the  remembrance  wound 
my  heart,  if  thou  shouldst  be  taken  from  me  !  He  en- 
treated me  with  inexpressible  tenderness,  not  to  allow 
the  thought,  declaring  his  thankfulness  for  our  union,  in 
a  variety  of  words  written  on  my  heart  with  the  adaman- 
tine pen  of  friendship  deeply  dipped  in  blood. 

"On  Wednesday,  he  told  me  he  had  received  such  a 
manifestation  of  the  full  meaning  of  those  words,  God 
is  love,  as  he  could  never  be  able  to  express.  '  It  fills 
my  heart,'  said  he,  'every  moment :  O  Polly,  my  dear 
Polly,  God  is  love  !  Shout !  shout  aloud  !  I  want  a  gust 
of  praise  to  go  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  !  But  it  seems  as 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


345 


if  I  could  not  speak  much  longer.  Let  us  fix  on  a  sign 
between  ourselves.'  '  Now,'  said  he,  tapping  me  twice 
with  his  linger,  4 1  mean,  God  is  love.  And  we  will 
draw  each  other  into  God.  Observe  !  By  this  we  will 
draw  each  other  into  God.' 

"  Sally  coining  in,  he  cried  out,  '  O  Sally,  God  is  love ! 
Shout,  both  of  you  !  I  want  to  hear  you  shout  his  praise  !' 
All  this  time  the  medical  friend,  who  attended  him  dili- 
gently, hoped  he  was  in  no  danger :  as  he  had  no  head- 
ache, but  much  sleep,  without  the  least  delirium,  and  an 
almost  regular  pulse.  So  was  the  disease,  though  com- 
missioned to  take  his  life,  restrained  by  the  power  of  God. 

"  On  Thursday  his  speech  began  to  fail.  While  he 
was  able,  he  spoke  to  all  that  came  in  his  way.  Hear- 
ing that  a  stranger  was  in  the  house,  he  ordered  her  to 
be  called  up.  But  the  uttering  only  two  sentences  made 
him  ready  to  faint  away.  And,  while  he  had  any  power 
of  speech,  he  would  not  be  silent  to  his  friendly  doctor. 
'  O,  sir,  said  he,  you  take  much  thought  for  my  body : 
permit  me  to  take  thought  for  your  soul  !'  When  I 
could  scarce  understand  any  thing  he  said,  I  spoke  these 
words,  God  is  love.  Instantly,  as  if  all  his  powers  were 
awakened,  he  broke  out  in  a  rapture,  'God  is  love! 
love  !  love  !  O  for  that  gust  of  praise  !  I  want  to  sound  !' 

 Here  his  voice  again  failed.    All  this  time  he  was 

much  in  pain,  and  suffered  many  ways :  but  still  with 
such  unutterable  patience  as  none  but  those  who  were 
present  can  conceive.  If  I  did  but  name  his  sufferings, 
he  would  smile  and  make  the  sign. 

"  On  Friday,  observing  his  body  covered  with  spots, 
I  felt  a  sword  pierce  through  my  soul.  As  I  was  kneel- 
ing by  his  side,  with  my  hand  in  his,  entreating  the  Lord 
to  be  with  us  in  this  tremendous  hour,  he  strove  to  say 
many  things,  but  could  not  articulate  the  words.  All 
he  could  do  was  to  press  my  hand,  and  frequently  repeat 
the  sign.  At  last  he  breathed  out,  '  Head  of  the  Church, 
be  head  to  my  wife  V 

"  When  I  was  forced  to  leave  him  for  a  few  moments, 
Sally  said  to  him,  '  My  dear  master,  do  you  know  me?' 
He  replied,  '  God  will  put  his  riajht  hand  under  you.' 
She  added,  4  O  my  dear  master,  should  you  be  taken 
away,  what  a  disconsolate  creature  will  my  poor,  dear 
mistress  be  !'  He  replied, 4  God  will  be  her  all  in  all.* 
15* 


346  LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


"  He  always  took  a  peculiar  pleasure  in  repeating  01 
hearing  those  words, 

'Jesus'  blood  through  earth  and  skies, 
Merc}',  free,  boundless  mercy  cries,' 

Whenever  I  repeated  them  to  him  he  would  answer, 
'Boundless!  boundless!  boundless!'  He  now  added, 
though  not  without  much  difficulty, 

'  Mercy's  full  power  I  soon  shall  prove. 
Loved  with  an  everlasting  love.' 

"  On  Saturday,  in  the  afternoon,  his  fever  seemed 
quite  oft",  and  a  few  friends  standing  near  his  bed,  he 
reached  his  hand  to  each :  and,  looking  on  a  minister, 
said,  '4re  you  ready  to  assist  to-morrow?'  His  recol- 
lection surprised  us,  as  the  day  of  the  week  had  not  been 
named  in  the  room.  Many  were  of  opinion  he  would 
reeover ;  and  one  of  them  said  to  him,  '  Do  you  think 
the  Lord  will  raise  you  up  V    He  strove  to  answer,  and 

could  just  pronounce,  'Raise  me  up  in  the  resur'  

meaning  in  the  resurrection.  To  another,  who  asked 
the  same  question,  he  said,  'I  leave  it  all  to  God.' 

"In  the  evening  the  fever  came  again,  and  with 
greater  violence  than  ever.  The  mucus  then  falling  on 
his  throat,  almost  strangled  him.  It  was  supposed  the 
same  painful  symptom  would  grow  more  and  more  vio- 
lent to  the  last.  As  I  felt  this  exquisitely,  I  cried  to  the 
Lord  to  remove  it.  And,  glory  be  to  his  name,  he  did  ! 
From  that  time  it  returned  no  more. 

"As  night  drew  on,  I  perceived  him  dying  very  fast. 
His  fingers  could  hardly  make  the  sign,  which  he  scarce 
ever  forgot:  and  his  speech  seemed  quite  gone.  I  said, 
My  dear  creature,  I  ask  not  for  myself:  I  know  thy  soul  : 
but,  for  the  sake  of  others,  if  Jesus  be  very  present  with 
thee,  lift  up  thy  right  hand.  Immediately  he  did.  If 
the  prospect  of  glory  sweetly  open  before  thee,  repeat 
the  sign.  He  instantly  raised  it  again,  and  in  half  a 
minute,  a  second  time.  He  then  threw  it  up,  as  if  he 
would  reach  the  top  of  the  bed.  After  this,  his  hands 
moved  no  more.  But  on  my  saying,  Art  thou  in  pain  ! 
He  answered,  'No.'  From  this  time  he  lay  in  a  kind 
of  sleep,  though  with  his  eyes  open  and  fixed.  For  tho 
most  part  he  sat  upright  against  pillows,  with  his  head  a 
little  inclining  to  one  side.  And  so  remarkably  composed, 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


347 


yea,  triumphant  was  his  countenance,  that  the  least  trace 
of  death  was  scarcely  discernible  in  it.  Eighteen  hours 
he  was  in  this  situation,  breathing  like  a  person  in  com- 
mon sleep.  About  thirty-five  minutes  past  ten,  on  Sun- 
day night,  August  14,  his  precious  soul  entered  into  the 
joy  of  his  Lord,  without  one  struggle  or  groan,  in  the 
iifty-sixlh  year  of  his  age. 

"  And  here  I  break  off  my  mournful  story  5  but  on  my 
bleeding  heart  the  fair  picture  of  his  heavenly  excel- 
lences will  be  for  ever  drawn." 

5.  The  reader  will  not  think  me  tedious,  if  I  subjoin 
here  the  account  which  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gilpin  has  given  of 
this  last  scene  of  the  life  of  this  incomparable  man : — 
"  After  having  manifested  so  much  resolution  and  con 
stancy  in  fighting  the  good  fight  of  faith,  it  is  no  wonder 
that  Mr.  Fletcher  was  permitted  to  finish  his  course  with 
joy,  and  that  the  concluding  scenes  of  his  warfare  were 
peculiarly  triumphant  and  glorious.  Equally  prepared 
tor  every  event,  he  met  his  last  great  trial  with  all  that 
composure  and  steadiness  which  had  invariably  distin- 
guished him  upon  every  former  occasion  of  suffering. 
He  entered  the  valley  of  the  shadmo  of  death,  as  one 
who  feared  no  evil.  He  considered  it  as  the  high  road 
to  that  incorruptible  inheritance  which  is  reserved  for 
the  saints:  and,  looking  forward  with  a  hope  full  of  im- 
mortality, he  saw,  beyond  its  limited  gloom,  those  ever- 
lasting hills  of  light  and  glory  to  which  his  soul  aspired. 

"  A  few  days  before  his  dissolution  he  appeared  to 
have  reached  that  desirable  point  where  the  last  rap- 
turous discoveries  are  made  to  the  souls  of  dying  saints. 
Roused,  as  it  were,  with  the  shouts  of  angels,  and  kin- 
dled into  rapture  with  visions  of  glory,  he  broke  into  a 
song  of  holy  triumph,  which  began  and  ended  with  the 
praises  of  God's  unfathomable  love.  He  laboured  to 
declare  the  secret  manifestations  he  enjoyed  ;  but  his 
sensations  were  too  powerful  for  utterance,  and,  after 
looking  inexpressible  things,  he  contented  himself  with 
calling  upon  all  around  him  to  celebrate  and  shout  out 
that  adorable  love,  which  can  never  be  fully  compre- 
hended or  adequately  expressed.  This  triumphant 
frame  of  mind  was  not  a  transient  feeling,  but  a  state 
that  he  continued  to  enjoy,  with  little  or  no  discernible 
interruption,  to  the  moment  of  his  death.     While  he 


34$ 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER, 


possessed  the  power  of  speech,  he  spake  as  one  wnose 
lips  had  been  touched  with  a  live  coal  from  the  altar  ; 
and  when  deprived  of  that  power,  his  countenance  dis- 
covered that  he  was  sweetly  engaged  in  the  contempla- 
tion of  eternal  things. 

"On  the  day  of  his  departure,  as  I  was  preparing  to 
attend  my  own  church,  which  was  at  the  distance  of  nine 
miles  from  Madeley,  I  received  a  hasty  message  from 
Mrs.  Fletcher,  requesting  my  immediate  attendance  at 
the  vicarage.  I  instantly  followed  the  messenger,  and 
found  Mr.  Fletcher  with  every  symptom  of  approaching 
dissolution  upon  him.  I  had  ever  looked  upon  this  man 
of  God  with  an  extraordinary  degree  of  affection  and 
reverence  ;  and  on  this  afflicting  occasion  my  heart  was 
uncommonly  affected  and  depressed.  It  was  now  in  vain 
to  recollect  that  public  duty  required  my  presence  in 
another  place :  unfitted  for  every  duty  except  that  of 
silently  watching  the  bed  of  death,  I  found  it  impossible 
to  withdraw  from  the  solemn  scene  to  which  I  had  been 
summoned.  I  had  received  from  this  evangelical  teacher, 
in  days  that  were  past,  many  excellent  precepts  with  re- 
spect to  holy  living ;  and  now  I  desired  to  receive  from 
him  the  important  lesson  with  respect  to  holy  dying. 
And  truly  this  concluding  lesson  was  of  inestimable 
worth,  since  so  much  patience  and  resignation,  so  much 
peace  and  composure,  were  scarcely  ever  discovered  in 
the  same  circumstances  before.  Let  me  die  the  death 
of  the  righteous,  and  let  my  last  end  be  like  his  ! 

"While  their  pastor  was  breathing  out  his  soul  into 
the  hands  of  a  faithful  Creator,  his  people  were  offering 
up  their  joint  supplications  on  his  behalf  in  the  house  of 
God.  Little,  however,  was  seen  among  them  on  that 
trying  occasion,  but  affliction  and  tears.  Indeed,  it  was 
a  dav  much  to  be  remembered  for  the  many  affecting 
testimonies  of  distress  which  appeared  on  every  side. 
The  whole  village  wore  an  air  of  consternation  and  sad- 
ness, and  not  one  joyful  song  was  heard  among  all  its 
inhabitants.  Hasty  messengers  were  passing  to  and 
fro  with  anxious  inquiries  and  confused  reports:  and  the 
members  of  every  family  sat  together  in  silence  that  dav, 
awaiting,  with  trembling  expectation,  the  issue  of  every 
hour.  After  the  conclusion  of  the  evening  service, 
several  of  the  poor,  who  came  from  distant  parts,  and 


LIKE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


340 


who  were  usually  entertained  under  Mr.  Fletcher's  roof, 
still  lingered  about  the  house,  and  seemed  unable  to  tear 
themselves  away  from  the  place,  without  a  sight  of  their 
expiring  pastor.  Secretly  informed  of  their  desire,  I 
obtained  them  the  permission  they  wished.  And  the 
door  of  the  chamber  being  set  open,  immediately  before 
which  Mr.  Fletcher  was  sitting  upright  in  his  bed,  with 
the  curtains  undrawn,  unaltered  in  his  usual  venerable 
appearance,  they  slowly  moved  one  by  one  along  the 
gallery,  severally  pausing  as  they  passed  by  the  door, 
and  casting  in  a  look  of  mingled  supplication  and  an- 
guish. It  was,  indeed,  an  affecting  sight,  to  behold 
these  unfeigned  mourners  successively  presenting  them- 
selves before  the  bed  of  their  dying  benefactor,  with  an 
inexpressible  eagerness  in  their  looks,  and  then  dragging 
themselves  away  from  his  presenee  with  a  distressing 
consciousness  that  they  should  see  his  face  no  more. 

"And  now  the  hour  speedily  approached  that  was  to 
put  a  solemn  termination  to  our  hopes  and  fears.  His 
weakness  very  perceptibly  increased,  but  his  counte- 
nance continued  unaltered  to  the  last.  If  there  was  any 
visible  change  in  his  feelings,  he  appeared  more  at  ease 
and  more  sweetly  composed,  as  the  moment  of  his  dis- 
mission drew  near.  Our  eyes  were  riveted  upon  him  in 
awful  expectation.  But,  whatever  he  had  felt  before,  no 
murmuring  thought  was  suffered,  at  this  interesting 
period,  to  darken  the  glories  of  so  illustrious  a  scene. 
All  was  silence,  when  the  last  angelic  minister  suddenly 
arrived,  and  performed  his  important  commission  with 
so  much  stillness  and  secrecy  that  it  was  impossible  to 
determine  the  exact  moment  of  its  completion.  Mrs. 
Fletcher  was  kneeling  by  the  side  of  her  departing  hus- 
band;  one  who  had  attended  him  with  uncommon  assi- 
duitv  during  the  last  stages  of  his  distemper  sat  at  his 
head;  while  I  sorrowfully  waited  near  his  feet.  Uncer- 
tain whether  or  not  he  was  totally  separated  from  us,  we 
pressed  nearer,  and  hung  over  his  bed  in  the  attitude  of 
listening  attention.  His  lips  had  ceased  to  move,  and 
his  head  was  gently  sinking  upon  his  bosom :  we 
stretched  out  our  hands  ;  but  his  warfare  was  accom- 
plished, and  the  happy  spirit  had  taken  its  everlasting 
ilight. 

"Such  was  the  undisturbed  and  triumphant  death  of 


350 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


this  eminently  holy  and  laborious  pastor,  who  entered 
into  rest  on  the  evening  of  Sunday,  August  14,  1785. 
Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord !  They  rest 
from  their  painful  labours,  and  are  followed  by  those 
exemplary  works  which  they  considered  as  unworthy  a 
place  in  their  remembrance  :  they  escape  from  the  windy 
storm  and  tempest,  and  are  brought  to  their  desired 
haven  :  they  have  a  right  to  the  tree  of  life,  they  enter 
in  through  the  gates  into  the  city,  and  stand  with  ever- 
lasting acceptance  in  the  presence  of  God. 

"  This  afHicting  providence  is  severely  felt  by  the  sur- 
vivor, who  has  lost,  at  this  separating  stroke,  whatever 
she  had  counted  most  valuable  on  this  side  eternity. 
But,  while  she  feels  all  the  anguish  of  an  immediate 
separation  from  her  dearest  friend,  she  looks  forward 
with  a  joyful  hope  of  being  one  day  united  to  his  happy 
spirit,  where  the  pangs  of  parting  can  be  known  no  more. 
Mrs.  Fletcher  was  surrounded,  upon  this  sad  occasion, 
by  a  multitude  of  sincere  mourners,  who,  while  they 
deplored  the  loss  of  their  inestimable  pastor,  recollected, 
with  peculiar  satisfaction,  that  the  last  years  of  his  life 
had  been  years  of  abundant  consolation  and  peace: — 
and  who  now  rejoice  that,  in  his  removal  from  among 
them,  he  left  behind  him  a  lively  representative  of  him- 
self, one  who  enters  into  his  labours  and  watches  over 
his  flock,  a  support  to  the  needy,  a  guide  to  the  ignorant, 
and  a  mother  in  Israel." 

6.  So  far  Mr.  Gilpin.  Mrs.  Fletcher  adds  :— "  When 
I  call  to  mind  his  ardent  zeal,  his  laborious  endeavours 
to  seek  and  save  the  lost,  his  diligence  in  the  employ- 
ment of  his  time,  his  Christlike  condescension  toward 
me,  and  his  uninterrupted  converse  with  Heaven  ;  I  may 
well  be  allowed  to  add,  My  loss  is  beyond  the  power  of 
words  to  paint.  I  have  often  gone  through  deep  waters ; 
but  all  my  afflictions  were  nothing  to  this.  Well :  I 
want  no  pleasant  prospect  but  upward ;  nor  any  thing 
whereon  to  fix  my  hope,  but  immortality. 

"  From  the  time  I  have  had  the  happiness  and  honour 
of  being  with  him,  every  day  more  and  more  convinced 
me  he  was  the  Christian.  I  saw,  I  loved,  in  him,  the 
image  of  my  Saviour,  and  thought  myself  the  happiest 
of  women  in  the  possession  of  the  most  sympathizing 
and  heavenly  friend.    My  sorrow  bears  a  due  propor- 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


351 


tion.  But  it  is  alleviated  by  that  thought,  United 
in  God  we  cannot  be  divided.  No:  we  are  of  one 
household  slill :  we  are  joined  in  Him,  as  our  centre, 
of  whom  the  whole  family  in  heaven  and  earth  is  named. 
It  is  said  of  New  Testament  believers,  they  are  come  to 
the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect:  to  the  glorious 
privilege  of  communion  with  the  Church  triumphant. 
But  this  is  far  more  apparent  to  the  eyes  of  celestial 
spirits  than  to  ours,  which  arc  yet  veiled  with  flesh  and 
blood.  Yet  as  there  is  joy  in  heaven  over  one  sinner 
that  repenteth,  and  as  the  prayers  of  saints  still  on  earth 
are  represented  by  incense  in  the  hands  of  the  elders,  I 
can  only  consider  departed  spirits,  and  ministering 
angels,  as  one  innumerable  company,  continually  sur- 
rounding us.  And  are  they  not  as  nearly  united  to  their 
fellow  soldiers  now  as  when  they  were  in  the  body  ? 
What  should  hinder  I  Gratitude  and  affection  are  natives 
of  heaven,  and  live  for  ever  there.  Forgetfulness  is  a 
property  of  mortality,  and  drops  off  with  the  body. 
Therefore  they  that  loved  us  in  the  Lord  will  surely 
love  us  for  ever:  can  any  thing  material  interrupt  the 
sight  or  presence  of  a  spirit  1  Nay, 

'  Walls  within  walls  no  more  the  passage  bar, 
Than  unopposing  space  of  liquid  air.' 

7.  "On  the  17th  his  remains  were  deposited  in  Made- 
ley  church  yard,  amid  the  tears  and  lamentations  of 
thousands.  The  service  was  performed  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Hatton,  rector  of  Waters-Upton,  whom  God  enable*! 
to  pay  a  public  tribute  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  this 
great  man,  in  a  funeral  sermon  from  Hebrews  xiii,  7,  and 
to  speak  in  a  pathetic  manner  to  the  weeping  flock.  Ia 
the  conclusion,  at  my  request,  he  read  the  following 
paper : — 

"  As  it  was  the  desire  of  my  beloved  husband  to  be 
buried  in  this  plain  manner,  so,  out  of  tenderness,  be 
begged  that  I  might  not  be  present.  And  in  every  thing 
I  would  obey  him. 

"  Permit  ine,  then,  by  the  mouth  of  a  friend,  to  bear 
an  open  testimony  to  the  glory  of  God,  that  I,  who  have 
known  him  in  the  most  perfect  manner,  am  constrained 
to  declare  that  I  never  knew  any  one  walk  so  closely  in 
the  v  ays  of  God  as  he  did.    The  Lord  gave  him  a  coo- 


352 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


science  tender  as  the  apple  of  an  eye.  And  he  literally 
preferred  the  interest  of  every  one  to  his  own. 

"  He  was  rigidly  just,  and  perfectly  loose  from  attach- 
ment to  the  world.  He  shared  his  all  with  the  poor, 
who  lay  so  close  to  his  heart  that,  at  the  approach 
of  death,  when  he  could  not  speak  without  difficulty, 
he  cried  out,  '  O  my  poor  !  What  shall  become  of  my 
■poor!''  He  was  blessed  with  so  great  a  degree  of  hu- 
mility as  is  scarce  to  be  found.  I  am  witness  how 
often  he  has  rejoiced  in  being  treated  with  contempt. 
Indeed,  it  seemed  the  very  food  of  his  soul  to  be  little 
and  unknown. 

"His  zeal  for  souls  I  need  not  tell  you.  Let  the  la- 
bours of  twenty-live  years,  and  a  martyr's  death  in  the 
conclusion,  imprint  it  on  your  hearts.  His  diligent  visit- 
ing of  the  sick  occasioned  the  fever  which,  by  God's 
commission,  tore  him  from  you  and  me.  And  his  vehe- 
ment desire  to  take  his  last  leave  of  you  with  dying  lips 
and  hands,  gave  (it  is  supposed)  the  finishing  stroke,  by 
preparing  his  blood  for  putrefaction.  Thus  has  he  lived 
and  died  your  servant.  And  will  any  of  you  refuse  to 
meet  him  at  God's  right  hand  in  that  day  ? 

"  He  walked  with  death  always  in  his  sight.  About 
two  months  ago  he  came  to  me  and  said,  '  My  dear  love, 
I  know  not  how  it  is,  but  I  have  a  strange  impression 
death  is  near  us,  as  if  it  were  to  be  some  sudden  stroke 
upon  one  of  us.  And  it  draws  out  all  my  soul  in  prayer 
that  we  may  be  ready.'  He  then  broke  out,  '  Lord, 
prepare  the  soul  thou  wilt  call !  And  O  stand  by  the 
poor  disconsolate  one  that  shall  be  left  behind  !' 

"  A  few  days  before  his  departure  he  was  filled  with 
love  in  an  uncommon  manner.  The  same  he  testified  as 
long  as  he  had  a  voice,  and  continued  to  the  end,  by  a 
most  lamblike  patience,  in  which  he  smiled  over  death, 
and  set  his  last  seal  to  the  glorious  truths  he  had  so  long 
preached  among  you. 

"  Three  years,  nine  months,  and  two  days,  I  have  pos- 
sessed my  heavenly  minded  husband.  But  now  the  sun 
of  my  earthly  joys  is  set  for  ever,  and  my  soul  filled  with 
an  anguish  which  only  finds  its  consolation  in  a  total 
resignation  to  the  will  of  God.  "When  I  was  asking  the 
Lord,  if  he  pleased,  to  spare  him  to  me  a  little  longer, 
the  following  promise  was  impressed  on  my  mind,  Where 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


353 


/  am,  there  shall  my  servants  be,  that  they  may  behold 
my  glory.    Lord,  hasten  the  time." 

8.  "  There  is  little  need,"  says  Mr.  Wesley,  "  of  add- 
ing any  farther  character  of  this  man  of  God  to  the  fore- 
going account,  given  by  one  who  wrote  out  of  the  fulness 
of  her  heart.  I  would  only  observe  that,  for  many  years, 
I  despaired  of  finding  an  inhabitant  of  Great  Britain  that 
could  stand  in  any  degree  of  comparison  with  Gregory 
Lopez  or  Mon.  de  Renty.  But  let  any  impartial  per- 
son judge,  if  Mr.  Fletcher  were  at  all  inferior  to  them  ? 
Did  he  not  experience  as  deep  communion  with  God, 
and  as  high  a  measure  of  inward  holiness,  as  was  expe- 
rienced by  either  one  or  the  other  of  those  burning  and 
shining  lights  ?  And  it  is  certain  his  outward  light  shone 
before  men  with  full  as  bright  a  lustre  as  theirs.  I  was 
intimately  acquainted  with  him  for  thirty  years.  I  con- 
versed with  him  morning,  noon,  and  night,  without  the 
least  reserve,  during  a  journey  of  many  hundred  miles. 
And  in  all  that  time  I  never  heard  him  speak  an  impro- 
per word,  or  saw  him  do  an  improper  action.  To  con- 
clude : — Within  fourscore  years  I  have  known  many 
excellent  men,  holy  in  heart  and  life.  But  one  equal 
to  him  I  have  not  known  ;  one  so  uniformly  and  deeply 
devoted  to  God.  So  unblamable  a  man  in  every  respect 
I  have  not  found  either  in  Europe  or  America.  Nor  do 
I  expect  to  find  another  such  on  this  side  eternity. 

"  Yet  it  is  possible  we  may  be  such  as  he  was.  Let 
us  then  endeavour  to  follow  him  as  he  followed  Christ." 

But  some  may  inquire,  Has  not  Mr.  Wesley  exceeded 
the  truth  in  this  testimony  ?  Has  he  not  given  a  too 
favourable  representation  of  the  character  of  his  friend, 
influenced,  perhaps,  by  the  similarity  of  their  views 
respecting  the  great  subject  of  general  redemption,  and 
other  subjects  connected  therewith,  and  by  the  very 
prompt  and  able  manner  in  which  Mr.  Fletcher  stood 
forth  in  defence  of  these  views  when  attacked  by  Mr. 
Wesley's  opponents  ?  I  shall  answer  these  inquiries  by 
presenting  the  reader  with  an  exactly  similar  testimony, 
borne  by  an  eminent  minister  of  Christ,  whose  senti- 
ments, on  these  points  of  doctrine,  were  the  reverse  of 
those  of  Messrs.  Wesley  and  Fletcher.  This  I  shall  do 
by  inserting  the  following  letter,  which  I  received  from 
a  very  pious  and  intelligent  clergyman  in  May  last,  in 


354  LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


consequence  of  his  having  lately  read  the  first  edition 
of  this  work  : — 

"My  Dear  Sir, — Had  not  my  time  been  very  fully 
employed  since  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  in  Lon- 
don, I  should  before  now  have  fulfilled  my  promise  in 
sending  you  the  character  which  the  late  Rev.  Mr.  Venn, 
vicar  of  Yelling,  gave  me  of  the  truly  apostolic  Mr. 
Fletcher.  The  testimony  of  Mr.  Venn  is  the  more  valu- 
able, as  there  were  several  points  of  doctrine  in  which 
he  diff  ered  from  Mr.  Fletcher  :  and  I  believe  he  felt  him- 
self a  good  deal  interested  in  the  support  of  several  of 
those  tenets  which  Mr.  Fletcher  publicly  opposed.  But 
difference  of  opinion  on  points  respecting  which  good 
men  probably  never  will  be  all  agreed  on  earth,  could 
not  close  the  eyes  of  the  great  and  good  Mr.  Venn 
against  the  extraordinary  excellences  of  Mr.  Fletcher, 
and  therefore  he  spake  of  him  with  all  the  rapture  and 
affection  which  pre-eminent  graces  will  always  excite 
in  the  breast  of  a  true  Christian.  In  the  following  nar- 
ration I  believe  you  will  have  nearly  the  words  of  Mr. 
Venn,  as  I  was  much  impressed  with  his  account  of  Mr. 
Fletcher,  and  wrote  down  what  I  remembered  of  it  at 
the  close  of  the  day  on  which  I  heard  it.  With  an 
expression  in  his  countenance  I  shall  not  soon  forget, 
making  mention  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  he  exclaimed,  '  Sir,  he 
was  a  luminary  ;  a  luminary  did  I  say  ?  He  was  a  sun. 
I  have  known  all  the  great  men  for  these  fifty  years  ; 
but  I  have  known  none  like  him.  I  was  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  him,  and  was  under  the  same  roof  with 
him  once  for  six  weeks  ;  during  which  time  I  never  heard 
him  say  a  single  word  which  was  not  proper  to  be  spoken, 
and  which  had  not  a  tendency  to  "  minister  grace  to  the 
hearers."  One  time,  meeting  him  when  he  was  very 
ill  of  a  hectic  fever,  which  he  had  brought  upon  himself 
by  his  intense  labour  in  the  ministry,  I  said,  "  I  am  sorry 
to  find  you  so  ill."  Mr.  Fletcher  answered  with  the 
greatest  sweetness,  "  Sorry,  sir  !  Why  are  you  sorry  ? 
It  is  the  chastisement  of  my  heavenly  Father,  and  I 
rejoice  in  it.  I  love  the  rod  of  my  God,  and  rejoice 
therein,  as  an  expression  of  his  love  and  affection  toward 
me."  ' 

"  Mr.  Venn  being  here  asked  whether  Mr.  Fletcher 
might  not  have  been  imprudent  in  carrying  his  labours 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


355 


to  such  an  excess,  answered*  '  His  heart  was  in  them, 
and  he  was  carried  on  with  an  impetus  which  could  not 
be  resisted.  He  did  not  look  on  the  work  of  the  ministry 
as  a  mere  duty,  but  it  was  his  pleasure  and  delight.  Tell 
a  votary  of  pleasure  that  his  course  of  life  will  impair  his 
property  and  health,  and  finally  ruin  him  :  he  will  reply 
that  he  knows  all  this  ;  but  he  must  go  on  ;  for  life 
would  not  be  tolerable  without  his  pleasures.  Such  was 
the  ardour  of  Mr.  Fletcher  in  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel. 
He  could  not  be  happy  but  when  employed  in  his  great 
work.'  Something  having  escaped  one  in  the  company 
which  seemed  to  bear  hard  upon  a  particular  body  of 
Christians,  Mr.  Venn  gave  a  solemn  caution  against  evil 
speaking  in  these  words  : — 1  Never  did  I  hear  Mr. 
Fletcher  speak  ill  of  any  man.  He  would  pray  for  those 
that  walked  disorderly,  but  he  would  not  publish  their 
faults.' 

"  This  I  believe  is  the  substance  of  what  fell  from  Mr. 
Venn  respecting  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fletcher,  and  the  manner 
in  which  he  spoke  showed  that  his  admiration  of  that 
great  and  good  man  was  raised  to  the  highest  pitch. 
Indeed,  Mr.  Venn  was  a  person  peculiarly  qualified  to 
appreciate  the  value  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  as  the  ardour  of 
his  own  zeal  and  devotion  most  nearly  resembled  that 
of  Mr.  Fletcher.  He  lived  in  very  uncommon  near- 
ness to  God,  and,  as  I  have  been  informed,  made  a  most 
triumphant  entrance  into  the  kingdom  of  glory.  I  am, 
my  dear  sir,  yours  affectionately,   ." 

The  following  character  of  Mr.  Fletcher  appeared  in 
the  Shrewsbury  Chronicle  of  August,  1785: — 

"On  the  14th  instant  departed  this  life,  the  Rev.  John 
Fletcher,  vicar  of  Madeley,  in  this  county,  to  the  inex- 
pressible grief  and  concern  of  his  parishioners,  and  of 
all  who  had  the  happiness  of  knowing  him.  If  we  speak 
of  him  as  a  man  and  a  gentleman,  he  was  possessed 
of  every  virtue  and  every  accomplishment  which  adorns 
and  dignifies  human  nature.  If  we  attempt  to  speak  of 
him  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  it  will  be  extremely  dif- 
ficult to  give  the  world  a  just  idea  oithis  great  character. 
His  deep  learning,  his  exalted  piety,  his  never  ceasing 
labours  to  discharge  the  important  duty  of  his  function, 
together  with  the  abilities  and  good  effect  with  which  he 
discharged  those  duties,  are  best  known,  and  will  never 


356 


LIFE  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


be  forgotten  in  that  vineyard  in  which  he  laboured.  His 
charity,  his  universal  benevolence,  his  meekness,  and 
exemplary  goodness  are  scarcely  equalled  among  the 
sons  of  men.  Anxious  to  the  last  moment  of  his  life  to 
discharge  the  sacred  duties  of  his  office,  he  performed 
the  service  of  the  Church,  and  administered  the  holy 
sacrament  to  upward  of  two  hundred  communicants,  the 
Sunday  preceding  his  death,  confiding  in  that  almighty 
Power  which  had  given  him  life,  and  resigning  that  life 
into  the  hands  of  Him  who  gave  it,  with  that  composure 
of  mind,  and  those  joyful  hopes  of  a  happy  resurrec- 
tion, which  ever  accompany  the  last  moments  of  the 
just." 


EPITAPH  OF  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


Here  lies  the  bodv  of 
The  Rev.  JOHN  WILLIAM  de  la  FLECHERE, 
Vicar  of  Madeley, 
Who  was  born  at  Nyon,  in  Switzerland, 
September  the  12th,  1729, 
And  finished  his  course,  August  the  14th,  1785, 
In  this  village  ; 
Where  his  unexampled  labours 
Will  long  be  remembered. 
He  exercised  his  ministry  for  the  space  of 
Twenty-five  years 
In  this  parish, 
With  uncommon  zeal  and  ability. 
Many  believed  his  report,  and  became 
His  joy  and  crown  of  rejoicing  ; 
While  others  constrained  him  to  take  up 
The  lamentation  of  the  prophet, 
"All  the  day  long  have  I  stretched  out  my  hands 
Unto  a  disobedient  and  gainsaying  people: 
Yet  surely  my  judgment  is  with  the  Lord, 
And  my  work  with  my  God." 
"  He,  being  dead,  yet  speaketh." 


THE  END. 


CONTENTS  TO  LIFE  OP  REV.  J.  FLETCHER. 


CHAPTER  L  Page. 

Of  his  parentage  and  youth   11 

CHAPTER  II. 

His  conversion  21 

CHAPTER  HZ. 

From  his  conversion  to  his  taking  orders,  and  entering  upon 
the  work  of  the  ministry  32 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Of  his  qualifications  for,  and  faithfulness  in,  the  work  of  the 
ministry,  and  of  his  labours  at  Madeley,  and  elsewhere  .  56 

CHAPTER  V. 

Of  the  excursions  he  made  to  different  places ;  his  first  visit 
to  his  native  country,  his  office  and  usefulness  at  Trevecka, 
and  of  the  steps  whereby  he  was  led  to  write  on  contro- 
versial subjects   119 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Of  his  declining  state  of  health,  the  progress  of  his  disorder, 
and  his  behaviour  under  it,  with  an  account  of  his  other 
polemical  writings,  and  the  conclusion  of  the  controversy  161 

CHAPTER  VII. 

From  his  leaving  Newington  till  his  return  from  Switzer- 


land to  Madeley  199 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Of  his  marriage     .   268 

CHAPTER  IX. 

From  his  marriage  till  the  beginning  of  his  last  illness       .  281 

CHAPTER  X. 

His  character,  taken  chiefly  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gilpin's 
account   ...  297 

CHAPTER  XI. 

His  character,  by  Mrs.  Fletcher  and  others  ....  224 

CHAPTER  XII. 

His  death  340 


Date  Due 

nrf|Ml!HnT|TTTT|UI!|MiijniijiiiijiMiji 

90 


